Manic
by kawaiikonann
Summary: "You're too unstable, too damn irresponsible!" The only thing she can do is cry silently, and she knows he's right but she can't help it. She doesn't tell him that she's not sure what to do with herself anymore, that sometimes even breathing is painful. And then, he quietly apologizes and wraps his arms tightly around her. Everything is okay again in that small moment.
1. I Only Wanna Die Some Days

"Shinobi, stop, please!" He dropped from the tree branch he had only landed on less than a second ago the moment he heard the weak plea. Already in the land of fire, he didn't hesitate for a second to even worry about the feminine voice being any sort of trap, especially due to the fact he had already made a name for himself. No one would be idiotic enough to try anything stupid, he thought to himself. It didn't take him long to find the source of the voice, hidden inside a tree hollow that would be easy for anyone who wasn't looking to miss. He quickly pulled out a small flare, and when he brought the light inside of the tree, his eyes widened.

A pale woman, with long chocolate locks was curled up against the inside of the tree trunk, her shallow uneven breaths and her jaded honey eyes a telltale sign that the woman wouldn't make it through the night no matter what he did. Her chapped lips cracked into a small smile, and he could tell she saw the realization of her inevitable faith on his face.

It hadn't been the first time he had witnessed someone die, and it certainly wouldn't be the last, after all, the life of shinobi was one filled with war and death, but it was still something he hated to see. He had been born a soft-hearted person, something his fellow team members always chastised him for, and something the old man admired in him, but in his opinion, it was just a reminder to himself of how human he was.

"I know I'm beyond help… but my daughter…" She slowly moved her arm, exposing the small child that had been draped over with the ivory mulberry silk sleeve of her rumpled yukata. His mind was spinning, trying to figure out what someone with such refined characteristics was doing dying on the forest ground like that, but his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her voice. "The Kaguya clan…our clan… they fear those born with white hair, for that signifies the inheritance of the Shikotsumyaku."

He had heard of the clan before. Bloodthirsty and war loving, two things that spelled nothing but chaos. They had made a name for themselves during the Warring States Period, a clan favored by the founders of Kirigakure, hired to do their bidding against other rival countries. Once Kirigakure was founded, the clan was ostracized, in turn, making the Kaguya go into exile. No one had heard of them since.

"Kekkei genkai?" The woman nodded. His eyes fell back to the small sleeping child, bundled in the same fabric of the woman's clothes. Her small headful of white hair was a shocking contrast to the dark brown of her mother's hair, but her small forehead bore the same ruby red twin dots, and her bottom eyelids were also underlined in the red color. She was almost as still as a corpse, but the small rise and fall of her chest let him know otherwise.

"I ran away the moment she was born… it took me two months to get here in my condition… I've heard of the Leaf. I just… wanted to get her there… Kasumi…" The light of the flare illuminated her tears, and with a shaky hand, she caressed the white curls on top of the child's small head. "Please shinobi, do a dying woman one favor… take Kasumi to the leaf…far from the Kaguya."

He nodded his head, and not a second later, the woman's arm dropped to her side. She had been so close to the village, less than four hours away. With steady fingers he closed her eyes, and had he not known any better he would've assumed her to be sleeping. He had brough her final peace when he agreed to take the small child to Konohagakure, and he let the thought comfort him before he picked up the small bundle cradled between the woman's arm and her lifeless body.

The small child stirred a bit, and before he knew it, two large jade eyes were peering at him. He expected a wail, some sort of reaction to the fact that a stranger was holding her, but none came. Instead, the infant, who judging by what the woman had told him, couldn't be more than two or so months old, turned her head and fell back into a slumber.

…

Having reached Konohagakure, Jiraiya skipped the gate guards and quickly made his way towards the only person he could think of to be of any help. The old man was home, he could tell from the orange glow emanating from the windows of the Hokage's residence. He quickly leaped onto the window of the study and was met by the sight of the old man sitting down, almost as if he was waiting for him to join him. He was mid-drag, and when he exhaled the smoke in his lungs, he greeted him.

"Jiraiya." Jiraiya quickly took a seat before him, and their eyes met briefly before Sarutobi let his gaze drop to the bundle in his arms. His eyes widened dramatically, and had it been any other situation, Jiraya might have poked fun at the old man, but the matter was different. "Is that your-"

"Geez old man, have some faith in me! I was on my way back here when I stumbled upon her and her mother." The somber look on his face was made apparent by the acknowledgement in his former teachers face. He didn't have to mention that the young woman hadn't made it. "I was able to speak to her for a bit. She was running away from the Kaguya clan, hoping to have her daughter be raised in Konoha."

The old man had a glazed look in his eyes, and for a second Jiraiya didn't know how to continue. He knew him enough to know he wouldn't turn away from the small child, he too had a soft heart, but he wasn't sure what he would recommend. Before he could ask him for some sort of verbal acknowledgement, the old man extended his arms towards him, and Jiraiya instantly knew what he was reaching for. He settled the small child in his arms, and her bright eyes opened immediately, taking in the sight of the new person who was now holding her.

Her small mouth curved into a toothless smile, and his eyes softened when he noticed the way the old man reciprocated the facial expression. Jiraiya hadn't been around many small children in his thirty years of life, but the few that he had been around hadn't been as calm as the small one in the old man's arms. "Does she have a name, Jiraiya?"

"Kasumi. Kasumi Kaguya." Hiruzen nodded his head, the action causing the fabric of his hat to fall within the reach of the girls grasp, and when she took a handful of it and tugged, the old man laughed.

"Did you have anything in mind for young Kasumi here? I could always enroll her into the orphanage, but most children with an ounce of greatness within them almost always end up within the ranks of Danzo's Root." The mention of the ANBU branch brought a bitter taste to his mouth, and without a second of hesitation he shook his head.

"If you grant her permission to stay, I'll stay for as long as it takes me to train her enough for her to be able to look after herself."

"Very well," he outstretched his arms, and the old man placed the smiling girl back into his arms. "I have a few old scrolls that Konoha acquired from the Warring Ages Period about the smaller clans, and I'm sure there were some with the Kaguya name in them. I'll have them ready for you tomorrow morning, they might come in handy." He nodded his head, and with the small girl comfortably in his arms, he stood up, ready to take his leave. Before he jumped back out the same window he had entered through, the old mans voice made him stop in his steps. "You might want to find a better place than that small broom closet you call an apartment, hell, even the Forest of Death is a better place to raise a child in."

…

It was midnight by the time Jiraiya made it to his apartment. He had stopped at a convenience store in order to find some suitable food for the small girl who was visibly becoming slightly agitated, and it dawned on him that he didn't know how long it had been since she had last had anything to eat. Once he had reached the convenience store, it had quickly dawned on him that he had no clue what to feed the girl, and when he had brought a gallon of milk and some straws to the woman at the counter of the store, she had loudly admonished him before taking pity on him and instructing him on the basics of child rearing.

So, the Sannin had left the store with a small can of some sort of powdered milk, a 3-pack set of bottles (because apparently babies don't know how to use straws) and diapers and wipes. On top of that, on the way home, he had felt a warm sensation on his chest and arm, and when he caught a whiff of pee, he almost cried. Almost. Instead, he beelined it to his place as fast as he could.

Once there, Jiraiya had carefully gave Kasumi a bird bath in his sink, and once she smelled like nothing more than the wildflower soap that Tsunade had gifted him on his 27th birthday, he had dried her up with a clean towel and maneuvered a diaper onto her bottom. He had then emptied out his woven laundry basket and placed the now clean baby in it while he read the instructions on the back of the formula container.

After feeding her, he patted her back softly like the woman at the store had instructed until she burped. By then, he was drained, and when he laid her down in the laundry basket, she had cried for the first time. He attempted to rock her into a drowsy state, but every time he tried to set her down into the basket, she instantly wailed, until he finally gave up and laid her down next to him on the small futon of his bedroom, cradled between his arm and his chest. Only then did she drift off into a slumber, and it was then that Jiraiya realized just how attached he would become to the small snow haired girl.

…

The next morning, Jiraiya was awoken by the sound of a soft childish laughter, and for a millisecond he panicked, until the memories of the events from the night before came back to him. Kasumi was wide awake, the makeshift swaddle he had fashioned out of an old shirt had come undone, and he quickly remembered that aside from picking up the scrolls the old man had mentioned, he'd also have to buy her clothes.

After taking the quickest shower he had ever taken in his life, (so quick that he hadn't had time to let the warm water come out so he had been forced to use cold water) he fed Kasumi and packed her essentials before making his way to the old man.

"Jiraiya!" He recognized that playful tone, and when he turned, he was met with lively onyx eyes, the trademark sign of the Uchiha clan. Amaya Uchiha was waving him over from a distance, a bag of groceries in one hand, and something secured to her chest with some sort of navy colored wrap.

Amaya had grown close to Tsunade during their childhood, which led to Jiraya growing an amicable relationship with the Uchiha woman too, but when Tsunade left the village and Amaya married, he had seen less and less of her. He made his way over to the woman, offering a smile, and when he reached her, he noticed the pouty faced child poking out of the wrap.

"It seems we both passed down our good looks to our kids!" The excitement in her voice was contagious, and before he knew it, he was grinning, too flattered to even want to correct her. "This is Shisui, and he's a bit upset I took him away from his cousin so early in the morning."

"This is Kasumi, we just met yesterday." Her eyes widened and before she could chastise him, he elaborated. "I found her on my way back to Konoha, I couldn't leave her on her own."

"Oh, Jiraiya! Do you know how old she is? Do you need any help? I have some girl clothes I was gifted before Shisui was born, if you'd like, you can come over later and pick them up!" The concern in her voice was genuine, and he could hear the unspoken apology for jumping to conclusions like the old man had the night before, but he couldn't blame them, he didn't have the neatest record when it came to women.

"I think I'll take you up on that offer, there's still a lot I need to learn, an old woman at a convenience store gave me a quick run through last night." He replied, as he motioned to the pack strapped to his back filled with Kasumi's things.

"How does 3pm sound?"

"Perfect." Their chat was interrupted by the laugh coming from their two infants, the small Shisui leaning out as much as the wrap allowed him towards the fully woken Kasumi, who was in turn enthralled by the raven-haired boy. "Shisui seems to have taken a liking to Kasumi."

"Seems like it."

…

_Four years later_

"Kasumi!" The small girl quickly finished her way toward the cabin hidden in the forest, a stringer packed with fresh fish in one hand and a long white spear in the other, making sure to leave no tracks behind. Once she reached her destination, she was met by the serious expression on her father's face.

"Fresh fish." She handed him the heavy stringer and he took it, before tousling her hair that had been neatly tied into a low ponytail at the nape of her neck. A few curls escaped the tie, falling softly on her face, and she quickly blew them out of the way.

"This is way too much fish for just the two of us, Kasumi." Her gaze fell on the floor, and she could feel her cheeks burning up from being called out on the large catch.

"The older boy with the silver hair was there again. I wanted to beat him." The white-haired man laughed heartily, and she couldn't help the small laugh that slipped out of her as they made their way inside.

"You should talk to him instead, not everything has to be a competition. Kakashi is kindhearted." She huffed in response but considered his words. _Kakashi. _Maybe next time she saw him, she'd offer him a spear so he could try fishing her way. It was definitely faster. "I'm going on a mission."

Her head snapped up to her father, who was now facing the counter of the kitchen with his back to her, scaling the fish for their dinner. He had told her he would start taking missions now that she was fully capable of defending herself, and she had understood, but hadn't expected it to happen so soon. Kasumi took a seat on the small table, and her lack of response caused him to send her a questioning look. "Does the prospect of being alone scare you?"

"No, Jiraiya-pa." He had begun to train her the moment she learned to walk, teaching her everything he knew and then helping her as much as he could with her kekkei genkai. Old man Sarutobi's scrolls had helped tremendously, to the point where it mattered none that she had no one to physically teach her what her Shikotsumyaku could do. She knew what it did and how to use it to its full potential. "How long will you be gone?"

"There's no telling. The Third Shinobi War has begun, and I've postponed leaving to the frontlines for too long." She nodded her head. "I leave tonight."

"I'll be fine Jiraiya-pa." The words came out a bit quieter than she had wanted, and she mentally berated herself for coming off so weak. She was almost five dammit! Jiraiya-pa had taught her to be strong, and she was already letting him down, and he hadn't even left yet! The stinging on the inside of her cheek and the metallic tang of blood in her mouth alerted her to the fact that she had once again bit herself, too distracted with her internal strife to stop herself from the annoying habit of gnawing on her cheek.

"I know you will." His affirmation brought her out of her thoughts, and she quickly swallowed the blood that had seeped out of the small wound in her mouth. "If you need anything, you know where to find the old man and Amaya. I'll be writing to you, okay?"

"Okay."

They ate dinner in a comfortable silence, something was troubling Jiraiya-pa, but she knew it would weaken his resolve of leaving her on her own if she asked him what it was, and the last thing she wanted to do was hold him back. She had grown to love her village, and she knew how instrumental his presence at the front lines would be. He'd probably even make the war end faster, that's how strong he was!

With her mood slightly lightened at the prospect of her strong Jiraiya-pa coming home soon, she picked up the last bear shaped onigiri, (which suspiciously resembled more of a toad, but he had tried) and bit into it with newfound vigor. Once their meal was over with, she quickly cleared the table and washed their dishes while her father gathered the things he'd need for his mission. Once she was done, she was surprised by the sight of the white haired Sannin holding out a rather large box towards her.

"I know I won't be here for your birthday Kasumi, so I figured I'd get you an early present." She hesitated for a bit, too taken by surprise to react, but when he pushed the box closer to her, she took it. As she slowly opened the box, his words were a background noise to the thoughts in her head, but she could still process what he was saying. "I know you'll get bored without me here; I think a hobby will do you well."

Inside the box was a musical instrument she had only seen a handful of times in her few outings to the village market with the older man. She had certainly been intrigued by the beautiful melodies that derived from it, but she hadn't thought he'd taken notice, too enthralled he had been with the beautiful woman that had been playing the tune. She carefully set the instrument down, before running towards him and wrapping her small arms around as much as she could of him. "Thank you, Jiraiya-pa."

…

I know I should be updating my other two stories, but I've grown to love Shisui all of a sudden and I feel like he deserved some happiness. Kasumi will be that, in this story. I imagine Kasumi as a female version of Kimimaro (appearance wise, but with curly hair). Seeing as she has been raised by Jiraiya, she is kind and softhearted like him, but there's many things that bother her internally (she knows he's not really her father, and she knows how she was found, and about the hateful nature of her clan.) As for the name of the story, you'll see why I chose Manic if you decide to stick it through and get entranced in this story.


	2. To Make A Memory Out Of A Feeling

"You tend to catch more fish when you use a spear." With a swift motion, a long spear protruded from the palm of her hand, and she cautiously extended it toward the masked boy. His eyes widened a bit, and she flinched internally, fearing she may have frightened him with her ability. Instead, he took the spear out of her hand with a nod.

It had been a little over a month since she had last seen him. Since Jiraiya-pa's departure, she had kept to the small cabin they resided in, until she was forced to make a quick trip to the village for supplies, and a past-due check in with old man Sarutobi. The lack of communication from her father had dampened her mood, but when she stopped at the river for some fish and spotted the boy, the dark cloud had lifted from her mind in favor of a sense of curiosity.

"I noticed that the last time you almost dried out the river." Kasumi felt her eyebrow twitch at his retort, and had it not been for the fact that he hadn't been disgusted by her bone manipulation the way the kids in the village had, she would've been tempted to come up with a witty comeback. She scoffed instead. Jiraiya-pa had said he was kind-hearted, and the only times Jiraiya-pa lied was when it came to spying on the women at the bathhouse or when he called his alcohol 'papa juice'.

"Jiraiya-pa already scolded me, so thanks but no thanks. I'm Kasumi, by the way. Kasumi Kaguya." He rapidly hurled the spear she had gifted him, and when he retrieved it from the water, she was amazed to see the four large fish caught in it. She'd been fishing that way for a little over a year and never had she caught four fish at the same time like that!

"Kakashi Hatake. I noticed Jiraiya-sensei hasn't been around the bathhouse lately." She giggled at his observation and nodded her head, and when she noticed a movement in the water, she launched her spear at it. The moment she retrieved it, she was disappointed to see that in place of the large fish she had thought she had seen, there was nothing but a tangled knot of dark green algae. Kakashi laughed, and a furious blush spread throughout her face. "I caught more than I had wanted to, so you might as well come over and eat."

"O-okay." She handed him the stringer she had planned to use for her catch, and he quietly strung up the four large speckled trout on it. Once he was done, he tried to hand her back the spear she had offered him, and she quickly shook her head.

"Don't you…need your bone back?" It was her turn to laugh this time, and the confused look on his face made her laugh even harder, until she was cradling her aching stomach. She finally shook her head as she wiped the few stray tears that had slipped from her eyes.

"No, I can create new bones within myself instantly, these aren't my actual skeletal bones, I kind of just made them, hence the spear shape." He seemed to understand what she was saying, and they quietly started walking back to his place, which was not that far from the river. He kept the spear in his hand, and a part of her felt relieved that he hadn't chosen to dump it instead.

Once inside his home, she noticed the lonely aura, but made no mention of it. It was a vast improvement from the eerie quiet she had been subjected to since Jiraiya-pa's absence, and she found herself enjoying Kakashi's company. Kasumi made her way to the small kitchen and placed her bags on the counter, bringing out a few potatoes and carrots and a small bag of white rice. She took a spot next to him as he scaled and cleaned the fish and began to peel and cut the vegetables.

"How old are you?" He was older than her for sure, she could tell from his height and the skilled way he caught the fish in the river. Her father had mentioned she was part of the generation born to a war-torn era, and she knew that included Kakashi.

"I'm nine." When he turned the cast iron pan that contained the now salted fish, she placed the diced vegetables around them. He turned to her after placing the pan in the small oven. "What about you?"

"Five. Do go to the academy?" He shook his head.

"I did, but I'm a Chunin now." They both stood in his kitchen for the whole fifteen minutes it took the fish and vegetables to bake, and she found herself intrigued by Kakashi and the quiet yet comfortable way he carried himself. She hadn't been around any kids who didn't find her repulsive, something she blamed on Jiraiya-pa's refusal to let her enroll in the academy, so the boy before her was a welcome sight. She murmured her complaint under her breath.

"I think he did it to keep you as far away from the war as he could." Her head snapped up, and when she saw him, she found him carefully removing the pan from the oven. The delicious scent of baked trout and roasted vegetables filled her nostrils and she suddenly realized just how hungry she was. He quietly set out their plates, and when he sat down, she stared down at her food for a second, pondering his words.

She loved Jiraiya-pa, truly. He had found in a vulnerable position, with her dying mother by her side, and instead of leaving her there and ignoring the plea of the vulnerable woman she had never got to meet, he had listened and taken her in. Something which he didn't have to do, she knew that. Kasumi couldn't count on her fingers just how many times she had passed by the ghastly building Konoha called an orphanage, and she had felt lucky to not have had to live there. But her father's refusal to enroll her in the academy had left her an outcast from the other kids, even the villagers, who had recoiled at the ability she had once found beautiful.

"I don't think the loneliness is worth it." When she looked up at him, she instantly noticed his empty plate. How the hell had she not noticed the moment he removed his mask to eat? "Never mind."

She ate as fast as she could without foregoing her manners, and when she finished, Kasumi picked up their plates before he had the chance to and brought them over to the sink, where she washed them in silence. When she took a glance outside his window, she swore she heard a rustling in the bushes, and while she was tempted to launch a digital bullet at the cause of the noise, she realized how crazy she'd look if she shot a rabbit for strolling by. It was dark out already, and a quick look at his digital watch let her know it was already past nine.

"I'll be taking my leave now." She bowed politely and thanked him for the dinner invitation, and when she went to grab the bags of groceries she had left on his counter, she noticed them no longer there.

"I'll walk you back, it's late out." She blinked once, then twice, and when he slid the shoji door that led to the road outside his house, she followed his lead.

"It's really not necessary, Kakashi." He ignored her, and while she felt slightly annoyed at his lack of faith in her ability to look after herself, she felt a bit giddy at the prospect of him caring enough to walk her back. _Is this…what friendship is like? _The thought made her feel flustered, and although it was a bit chilly out, she felt a little too warm.

Once outside the small cabin, he handed her the grocery bags he had held hostage in order to walk her home. His head tilted to the side in confusion, and before she could panic at the possibility of her having food around her mouth or even worst, stuck between her teeth, he held the back of his hand to her forehead. Kakashi's hand was warm, and it added to the heat already spread across her face. "You seem to be a bit feverish."

"I'm fine! Thank you for walking me home, I'll see you around Kakashi!" Kasumi quickly turned heel and almost ran inside the cabin, accidentally slamming the door in his face in the process. She quickly let the bags drop to the floor, before letting out the long breath she didn't even realize she was holding. Small shaky fingers traced over the spot where his hand had previously been, and she sighed as she let her back slowly slide down the door she had propped herself against.

…

Sleep evaded her that night. Kasumi was used to having trouble falling asleep, but insomnia had set on the night she found herself completely alone in the cabin she called home. After continuously struggling to find some small amount of drowsiness, she kicked off the covers she had been wrapped in and made her way down the stairs and into the kitchen, where she proceeded to pour herself a cup of water. The eerie quiet was disrupted by the sound of shuffling, and without turning on a light, she used the light from the moon that illuminated the room a bit to find the source of the noise. With her index finger, she aimed at the dark corner of the room, and when she heard the thud of the bullet hitting its target, she turned on the light.

In the corner of the kitchen that had been previously pitch black and out of reach of the moonlight was a black snake, the ivory underbelly visible from the way it laid there, completely lifeless. Blood slowly pooled around it and she huffed, annoyed at the fact that she'd waste a good amount of time scrubbing blood out of the wooden floorboards. Before she could turn to grab any cleaning supplies, she felt a crippling sense of fear, as if she wasn't the only person in the room, and when she felt the air shift near her shoulder, her bones instantly protruded, forming a defense against the touch of the stranger in the room.

Kasumi abruptly turned, quickly catching a glimpse of dark red droplets, and she panicked for a second, until she realized it hadn't been her blood. Her attention fell back to the strange man eyeing her as if contemplating what she was doing in her own home, and the smirk on his face heightened the fear that had been forming in the pit of her stomach. She swallowed, trying to remember everything Jiraiya-pa had taught her about finding herself in hazardous situations all at once, but the ominous tone of his voice broke her concentration.

"Why are you so afraid?" Her eyes widened, and she could feel the erratic beating of her heart against her chest. The snake-like man chuckled, and the sound made her freeze in the spot she stood in. She felt the air growing heavy, and the fear inside her grew, making the simple act of breathing even harder to accomplish.

"I'm not scared." She was lying, hoping to convince herself more than him that she was nonchalant to his presence, but the glint in his eyes made it evident that he could see through her words. She forced herself to still the shaking of her limbs as he approached, and when he pointed his bloody hand at her she almost flinched.

"The armor gives you away, child." She looked down at the rib bones that protruded from her chest in alarm, shocked at the fact she hadn't noticed her body acting out of its own accord or even heard the sound of her lavender slip tearing. She tried to retract them, but her bones wouldn't budge, too on edge by the uneasy state she was in. "I mean you no harm."

"Then what are you doing in my home so late." It seemed her body was finally settling down, and the bones began to slowly retract, to her relief. The man took a seat in the chair that her father usually occupied during their shared meals, and she found herself replacing the fear with irritation. How had her day gone south so suddenly? The cold slipped through the uneven rips in her slip where the bones had previously been visible through, and she slowly wrapped her small arms around her frame.

"Did dear Jiraiya never mention his teammates? Shame." His words instantly got the wheels turning in her small head, and she instantly recalled the few stories she had heard from her father about his former team that had once been led by old man Sarutobi. His name passed through her mind and slipped past her lips without her realization.

"Orochimaru."

"I saw you leaving Sarutobi-sensei. I just wanted to make sure you were okay, I'm surprised Jiraiya left you on your own, so young. But it seems I had no reason to worry, he's trained you well…" Her eyes followed his down to the still bleeding wound on his hand from when he tried to grab her shoulder, and before she could apologize, his long tongue lapped at the wound, cleaning off the blood in a manner that made it seem as if he enjoyed the taste. "But not well isn't always enough."

"What are you talking about?" He seemed to relish in the fact he had piqued her interest, and it made her want to gag, but something about his words sat wrong in her mind. Did he know her lack of academy training? Was it obvious by the way she had frozen in fear in his aura? Could he sense weakness radiating from her?

"Had I been anyone else…someone unfriendly… you might not be alive right now." He stood before she could retort, before she could tell him where to stick his opinion, because that's all it was, even if the voice nagging her in the back of her head agreed with him. Jiraiya-pa had sheltered her, an invisible crutch to the greatness she knew she could accomplish if given the opportunity. As if he could see the internal monologue in her mind, he gave her a quick look over and spoke. "If you ever feel the need for proper training… just look for a snake."

With that, he was gone, and she was left to clean up the snake carcass and blood from the wooden floorboards of the kitchen floor, her thoughts louder and heavier with the added doubt the snake-like man had implanted in her.

…

Kasumi woke the next day feeling lethargic. Sleep had managed to evade her until the early morning hours, when the sun had begun to rise, and by the time the croaking that sounded suspiciously too close to the second story window of her room had managed to rouse her, the toad clock sitting on the dresser next to her bed let her know she had slept half the day away.

The loud croaking had been coming from the familiar messenger toad perched on her windowsill, a small scroll attached to its back, and she stumbled her way through the clothes on her floor towards it. Once the toad was happily chirping in her hands, she carefully untied the scroll from its back. The messily scribbled words that she had learned to understand brought a small smile to her lips, and she silently read it, imagining her father's voice narrating it in her mind.

'_Kasumi,_

_I apologize for keeping you waiting for so long to hear from me, but I'm sure you understand just how hard it can be to find any free time in my position. By the time you get this letter, I'm sure your birthday will have already passed, and for that, I apologize as well. I want to hear how your endeavor with your birthday gift is going, have you mastered the guitar already? I'm sure you have, you're a fast learner, a prodigy. Hope the grand stories of my amazing life have inspired you into writing a ballad of my great accomplishments, and I look forward to reading the words to it when you reply to my letter._

_I can't speak much on what's going on around here, but I know for a fact I won't be back in Konoha for a while. I trust you to look after yourself, like I said, you're a prodigy, and my pupil daughter to boot! I'd appreciate it if you keep checking in with the old man though, and I know I haven't brought you around Amaya since you were still in diapers, but I would also feel better if you started visiting her at the Uchiha manor every now and then, I don't like the idea of you being on your own for so long. Loneliness makes people grow cold. You should take some melonpan when you go visit._

_Alas, it is with a heavy heart that I must bring this letter to an end. I look forward to reading a letter from you, with the lyrics to my ballad attached of course. You can even name it, 'Jiraiya: The Great Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku'._

_Love,_

_Jiraiya-pa_

_**P.S.**__ Have you befriended Kakashi?_

_**P.P.S.**__ Tell the old man to stop spoiling you with popping candy._

Kasumi quickly swallowed the remnants of the strawberry flavored popping candy she had poured into her mouth while she read the letter. She missed the eccentric man, so she decided to pick up the instrument propped on a stand she had fashioned out of wood and began quietly strumming a tune she had conjured in her mind the night before, as she had laid in bed begging herself to finally drift of to sleep. One thing she was definitely not going to do, was write a ballad to inflate his ever-growing ego.

…

What kind of a story would this be without creepy Orochimaru trying to slither his way into the mind of a kid for his own power gains? Next chapter seems to be the one where Kasumi will meet Shisui for the first time in a long time, seeing as the interaction with Kakashi went well, I wonder how it'll go. I've been using the help of a Naruto timeline of events I found on Reddit to write this story, so if you have any questions just let me know! I'll be happy to answer. I can already tell this will be my favorite story to update.


	3. How Could Somebody Ever Love Me?

"_I spent a long time watering a plant made out of plastic, and I cursed the ground for growing green._" The words fit the melody in her head perfectly, and Kasumi fiddled with a different set of notes before she delivered the next line. "_I spent a long time substituting honest with sarcastic, and I cursed my tongue for being mean…_"

She grabbed the small notebook filled with words and scribbled out sections, and wrote the verse, clucking out a sound of approval at her slow process. Song writing was a bit difficult, but entertaining. She set down the pen and notebook, placing the guitar down next to her gently, before running to the balcony in her room, small hands clutching the railing carefully as she leaned out to address the boy below.

"You're not that stealthy for a Chunin, you know." Kakashi's head snapped back to gaze at her from below the balcony, and the look of indignation in his eyes was enough to crack the serious façade she had fixed on her face before admonishing him.

"I wasn't trying to be stealthy! I simply heard what sounded like screeching, so I came to check if you were still alive. Turns out, you were just _singing_." He emphasized the last word with air quotes, and her eyes widened marginally, but she could tell he had noticed from the smug look he was now carrying.

"That wounded me, truly." Her words were laced with snarky sarcasm, and the smug aura he had been enveloped in dissipated, which took her by surprise, because really, what did he care if she was slightly annoyed?

"I was actually going to come see how you were doing since you seemed sick last night." The sincerity in his words made all traces of the irritation she had felt vanish, until the only thing she felt was embarrassment and a slight sense of endearment for the boy she had only just made an acquaintance the day before. She quickly blamed her constantly changing mood on the alienated way Jiraiya-pa raised her and scrounged up some courage for the silent apology she had in mind.

"Give me a sec!" Kasumi ran back inside her room, and quickly tugged on her sandals and her thigh pouch before running back out and leaping off the balcony. Had he not been the skilled young shinobi Kakashi was, he probably would've been too surprised by the unexpected way she leaped towards him, but he instantly caught her, one arm supporting her legs and the other around her shoulders. She planted a small kiss on his cloth covered cheek before jumping out of his arms. "Thank you for the concern, I'm feeling way better!"

He nodded and murmured something that didn't quite catch her ears, the beating of her heart too loud to concentrate. Love was a strange concept, she thought to herself, and then, almost chocked on her own saliva because, who the hell had said anything about love? And how the hell did she even know if this was it? She loved Jiraiya and the old man, and she loved the village, even though the other kids sucked, but that was a bit different from what she felt now. None of those prior listed things made her feel as if a garden was growing in her chest, entangled around her ribs and organs.

Maybe Kakashi was right. Maybe she was sick. The shake of her shoulder alerted her to the fact that he was speaking to her, but she had been too deep in thought to listen. "Sorry, what?"

"I said, where are you headed, we've been walking for a good ten minutes and were almost nearing the market." One look down at the paved ground that signaled the way towards the village let her know that he was right, and she knew she was blushing again when concern marred his visible features. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm sorry, yes, just got a bit distracted with some lyrics that came to mind," she lied. "I need to pick up some melonpan and go visit a friend of Jiraiya-pa at the Uchiha compound. He finally wrote me, and he said something about loneliness making people cold."

Kakashi seemed to ponder her words, and for a while, she found herself wondering what was running through his head. Was he thinking about his father, _Konoha's White Fang_? He hadn't mentioned it, and neither had she, but her father had told him the tragic story. Sakumo Hatake was a hero in her eyes, someone she could easily look up to. "I can walk with you, I was gonna head to the Uchiha manor myself."

She tilted her head, wondering what business he had there, but he answered the question before she could ask. "One of my team members is an Uchiha. We're supposed to leave on a mission tonight."

If he noticed the glum look on her face, he made no mention of it. To say Kasumi was upset was an understatement. She was pretty devastated, and she knew the vibe was rolling off of her in waves, but she could do nothing to contain it. She had just met him yesterday and he was already leaving. And who knew if the awful man from the night before would pay her another visit, although judging from his last words, if she wanted to see him again (which was undoubtedly a hard no), she'd have to 'follow' a snake.

They made their way silently through the crowd, following the scent of fresh sweet bread to the bakery. Once inside, the old woman at the counter greeted them warmly, and Kasumi felt her mood improve drastically at the way the woman addressed them so familiarly. When Kakashi mentioned the melonpan, the woman sweetly motioned them to give her a minute to grab a fresh batch from the oven in the back.

"She's so sweet." Kakashi nodded in agreement, his eyes landing on everything but her, and it bothered her for some reason. Had she said something stupid while she had been out of it without noticing?

When the woman came back with a half dozen box of warm and aromatic melonpan, Kasumi reached for her leg pouch to dig out some bills to pay the woman with, but Kakashi's firm grip on her wrist stopped her. "I've got it."

He shoved a hand in the pouch attached to his hip, but the woman waved them off with a hearty laugh. "It's on the house, you two look so good together, reminds me of my dear husband and I when we were your age, people even thought we were siblings."

Kasumi could've died on the spot in that moment, but she regained her composure as much as she could before thanking the woman and following the stoic Kakashi out of the bakery. The silence that came after the bakery scene was uncomfortable, and she wanted to dispel it with a lighthearted joke, but she was scared to make it worse. When the silence was too much to bear, she spoke.

"I could've paid for the bread."

"I never implied you couldn't. I was just being polite."

"Well I don't need you to be polite all the time."

"Okay."

"I'm sorry, Kakashi."

"Don't worry about it." She stopped in her tracks and grabbed him by the sleeve of his shirt, motioning him to stop. When he turned, she could see he was still annoyed, and it made her feel uneasy, but she shook the feeling off and pulled a melonpan out of the box. "What are you doing?"

She ripped the bread into two halves, and handed him one of them with a bright smile adorning her face. He looked confused, but when she shoved the bread closer to his face, he reluctantly accepted it. "Peace offering."

"I don't particularly enjoy sweets." She pouted, and he looked away at a spot behind her head. "But thank you."

They ate the bread in the comfortable silence that being around him entailed, him sneaking bites while she wasn't eating, and her savoring the sweet taste of the bread. What was she going to do in his absence? The month she had spent on her own had been awfully unsettling, and meeting him had been the best thing that had happened to her so far. Sure, she could always pay the old man a visit, but she knew he was too busy to bother, being Hokage was a tiresome job, she knew from the fact her father would constantly stress the fact that he'd never be up for the task. As for the woman she was on her way to see, if Orochimaru was any indication to the type of friends her father surrounded himself with, she was already dreading it.

…

When they reached the compound, Kasumi was amazed. It was like a village inside of the village, and she felt like she stuck out like a sore thumb with her white hair and jade eyes among its raven haired, onyx eyed inhabitants, but she found comfort in her companion's similarly light hair.

"Is that an angel?" She turned abruptly and was met by two large charcoal colored eyes less than an inch from her face. The boy, who had crouched down a bit to be at eye level with her, was wearing the most puzzled expression on his face, and she couldn't help but chuckle at how dorky he looked with his spiky unruly hair and the obnoxious goggles that rested on top of his forehead protector. "What are you doing here with an angel _Ba-ka-shi_?"

"Are you stupid, blind, or both?" Kakashi pulled her back and away from the Uchiha's examination, and half hid her behind his back. "This is my idiot team member I was telling you about."

"Obito Uchiha, nice to meet ya! One day, I'll be the first Uchiha to be Hokage, remember it angel-girl!" His enthusiastic exclamation made her giggle once again, and at that moment she decided Obito was gonna be a good name to add to her small growing list of friends.

"She's not an angel, her name is Kasumi Kaguya. She's looking for someone."

"Amaya. Jiraiya-pa said I could find her here." Kasumi added.

"Oh! I can show you where she lives! I'll meet you at the village gates in a bit Bakashi!" And with that, Obito picked her up the same way Kakashi had caught her not that long ago and took off amongst the people strolling around before she could even protest the fact that she could obviously walk. She hadn't even been able to say goodbye to the silver haired boy, and the last thing she heard from him was a loud order for the boy who had essentially abducted her. "Don't be late!"

Once they were out of view, Obito finally set her down, apologizing profoundly for the way he had taken her from under Kakashi's (Bakashi was what he actually called him) mask covered nose. He was the complete opposite of Kakashi. While the silver haired boy was calm and collected, Obito was almost as eccentric as her father, and he acted and spoke out of impulse and emotion rather than intellect, but she enjoyed that about him. "So how come I've never seen you around, angel-girl?"

"I don't really like coming out to the village. Some of the kids made fun of my kekkei genkai. It left a bitter taste." She offered him a small smile, and the look on his face let her know he was upset about the way she'd been treated, but he quickly changed the subject before she could say anything else.

"I have a kekkei genkai too! Well, it hasn't woken yet, but it will! And then I'll beat Bakashi and maybe Rin will…" He mumbled the rest, and the flustered expression on his face was enough for her to make out the fact that Rin was, 1.) a girl, and 2.) the third member of their team. "Anyway, what's your kekkei genkai?"

Kasumi had been slightly dreading the question, too afraid of what his reaction might be, but she swallowed away the thought and extended a clammy palm towards him. When the long, sharp, bone began to protrude from the palm of her hand, his eyes widened in what seemed to either be fear or wonder, and when she couldn't tell the difference, she quickly retracted it.

"That's… so cool!" The words made her blink in confusion, and when she finished processing them, she was elated. She loved making friends, even though they were on the same team which meant he'd be gone with Kakashi as well. Maybe when they got back, they could introduce her to Rin, and then she'd be able to add a girl to her list!

"Don't you have a mission, cousin?" The question came from a boy sitting down on the rooftop of the home they had made their way to, most likely Amaya's, she reminded herself. He leaped down gracefully and walked to them in a silent manner that reminded Kasumi of Kakashi a bit. "Is that a ghost? Have you been vandalizing the memorial, Obito?"

She could feel her head throb at his comment, but before she could snatch him by the collar of his shirt and chew his ear off, Obito replied. "Angel-girl is actually looking for your mom, Shisui. Anyway, I gotta go before Minato-sensei comes looking for me. See you later angel-girl!"

Obito's departure was sudden, and an awkward silence followed it. Deep obsidian eyes studied her from beneath long sooty lashes, and she found herself admiring the beauty of the rude boy before her. He couldn't have been much older than her, but definitely younger than Kakashi or Obito, although the small stress lines on his face had her second guessing herself.

"Is that melonpan?" Her eyes drifted from his face to the box she was holding, and she nodded her head with a little too much enthusiasm. "Come in, mother is preparing dinner."

…

Shisui's home was full of life compared to her and Kakashi's respective homes, and the light that shone in through the windows and sliding doors was enough to illuminate it all without the need to turn any lights on. There was something about the welcoming warmth that made her feel at ease, and she dreaded the thought of having to go back to the empty cabin, which was only ever illuminated by the presence of the man who raised her. "Mother, you have a visitor."

The slim, long haired woman turned, and when her eyes landed on Kasumi, she smiled brightly, instantly dropping the task she had been so consumed by. "Kasumi, you've grown so much since the last time Jiraiya brought you around! You're almost as tall as Shisui!"

She couldn't think of anything to reply with, as she couldn't remember ever being in the woman's presence, so she extended the box of sweet bread towards her with a small smile. "I've brought melonpan."

Amaya was practically beaming, and Kasumi decided that the woman was nothing like Orochimaru, therefore she liked her. She took the box from her hands before quickly turning and cutting one of the breads in perfectly even halves, much like she had done for herself and Kakashi, before handing her and Shisui each a piece. "Let me finish up dinner here, and in the meantime, you two can go enjoy the treat in the garden, get reacquainted. I'll call for you when it's time for dinner."

They both thanked her before Shisui led her back out towards the back of the house, and when they stepped out to the engawa, she was elated at the beautiful design of the garden before her. Directly below was a pond full of brightly colored koi fish, all in the most beautiful shades of reds and oranges and pearly white colors she had ever seen. Shisui took a seat, his small legs dangling an inch above the water, and when he threw a small piece of the bread in the water, the fish all gathered in a bunch below them.

"This is beautiful." She murmured the words before sitting next to him, and she didn't miss the delighted expression on his face as he bit into the sweet treat. She mimicked his actions and tore off a small piece of the bread to the delight of the fish below, before taking a bite of it.

"Mother says they're therapeutic, although I do agree with you. They are somewhat mesmerizing." He raised his hand a fraction, almost as if stuck in a thought, and when he pointed at a fish that stuck out between the rest of the fish like her and Kakashi had stuck out in the Uchiha compound, he spoke. "That one is my favorite though."

The koi was a mustard yellow color that clashed between the regal colors of its companion, with dark gray splotches covering most of its back, and part of it felt like she could relate to it, the sense of not fitting in a familiar feeling to her. She tore a small piece of the bread in her hands and aimed it straight at the distinctive fish, and it rapidly caught it, gulping it down before humoring them with a crooked swim below them.

"Why that one?" He seemed to ponder on it for a second, almost as if gathering his thoughts into something he could easily explain, and when he spoke, she listened intently.

"My uncle, he built his wife a koi pond to celebrate the news of her pregnancy. He spent so much time and effort into everything that had to do with it, my mother even helped him in her free time. She gifted him a pair of koi to breed, including her favorite one, a beautiful pearl white female. All of their surviving offspring were beautiful, except for that guy there." He pointed at the fish again, before continuing his story. "My uncle believed him to be bad luck due to the fact he looked different from the others, so he had planned to take it out of the pond and let it dry out and die. My aunt in turn, took pity on it and brought him to my mother, and so, here he is. I don't think he should have been treated any different because of the way he looks, in fact, I think the fact he looks nothing like the rest of the koi is what makes him beautiful."

Shisui turned to her, but she found it hard to focus on him, and when she rubbed her eyes and felt the wetness on her hands, she realized she had been crying. As she frantically wiped away at the tears, she heard the sound of Amaya's voice calling out to them and when she finally looked up, she was met by an already standing Shisui, his hand outstretched towards her and a smile on his face, the bright sun behind him encasing him in its light.

"You're weird ghost-girl, but I think I quite like that."

…

Little pretentious yet extremely sweet Shisui, I LOVE HIM! And I really love this story to bits, little angel/ghost-girl is already becoming like my child, well, she basically is! Obito is 10 here, Kakashi is 9, Kasumi and Shisui are both 5. I thought maybe Kasumi is a bit mature for her age, but everyone was growing a bit too fast in the era of the Third Great Ninja War. I made up the story of the Koi fish, and if you haven't guessed yet, the uncle and aunt that Shisui was talking about are Fugaku and Mikoto, so baby Itachi is currently about 2 here, more or less. I hope you guys enjoy!


	4. The Towers In Your World Are Sinking

"I don't believe the academy would be a good fit for you, Jiraiya taught you all you know so you'd be at an advantage, and you're past the required age, you'd be stuck in a class full of kids three years younger than you." She could feel the itch on her forearm, slowly but insistently getting stronger, and she locked her jaw tightly, trying to ignore the need to scratch away at it. Instead, she focused on the man before her, trying her hardest to keep her composure.

"Then how about giving me the genin test and letting me work my way up?" He let out a sigh, and she knew that was the end of the conversation. Once more she had failed to change his mind, which meant she'd stay stuck like a flightless bird in the cage like village for however else long. More and more the thing she had once deemed a miracle, Jiraiya running across her and her dying mother eight years ago, was beginning to feel like a curse. She quickly dragged a palm over her left forearm, trying hard to nonchalantly relieve the annoying itchiness.

"I pulled enough strings to convince the elders into letting Jiraiya raise you in the village. All else is out of my control, including making you an active shinobi." He sounded defeated, and it made her feel a bit guilty for placing her anger towards him and the man who brought her up, but she'd yet to meet the elders and the man they called Danzo, so her anger didn't have the proper outlet. She slowly bowed, silently communicating the fact she'd be departing, but before she could walk out the door, his voice made her pause. "Don't let the what the villagers say get to you, let your skin be as thick as the armor beneath it."

She nodded her head, before hurrying out of his office, tears threatening to spill from her emerald eyes. The feeling of incompetence burned in her chest, and the hushed voices and looks of the people she ran across did little to alleviate the feeling, instead festering it up like a forest fire. She wanted nothing more than to snap at them, to let them know that staying hidden inside the village like a damsel in distress was not up to her. That if she had the choice, she'd be fighting shoulder to shoulder with her friends, making sure they came back unharmed and the village stayed untouched. She wanted them to know that if it were up to her, she'd have already reunited with Jiraiya.

_Would it really be a reunion though?_

It had been four years since she'd seen him walk out the door of their shared cabin, and the last letter she had received from him had come a month after his first one. Kasumi had worried at first, instantly thinking the worst had happened, but when she learned that he'd kept in contact with the Sandaime, her feelings had been hurt drastically, and the stinging of abandonment had cracked something within her, something she didn't like but told no one about. The annoying itch pestered on her skin, and once out in the more heavily populated streets of Konoha, she quickly lifted the sleeve of her lilac blue kimono shirt and angrily scratched away at her forearm.

The stress of what was currently her life was beginning to get to her, and she'd been too put off by the chances of whatever was going on in her mind ruining her requests to become a Konohagakure shinobi to go see anyone at medical. Instead, she had decided to bear with the things happening in her head on her own, from the fits that left her crying on her bedroom floor, to the moments that left her gasping for air with an excruciating pain in her chest. Just thinking on the last attack that had been brought on by Shisui's departure on his first mission made her chest construct, but before the feeling could progress, two familiar arms wrapped around her waist and lifted her off the floor.

"What's with the long face, _Angel-girl_?" Obito's smile was bright, and the playful glint in his eyes made the invisible snake in her chest wind itself out and fade away so fast, that for a second she wished she could bottle whatever it was about his presence that made her relax and use it as a medication. With a small frown, he set her down and led her towards a dango stand, quickly purchasing two identical sticks before once again leading her to an unoccupied bench, a bit off from where the liveliness of the village was. Once they sat, he handed her one of the sticks. "The old man denied your request again?"

"He said it's not up to him." She took one of the dango spheres into her mouth, chewing through it in a mechanical manner, too upset to enjoy the sweetness of the treat, and when he scoffed, she met his gaze of determination, eyes focused on her intently in a way that made her feel as if she had offended him by not savoring the treat.

"What a wuss!" His outburst surprised her; she was so used to hearing everyone but the man who raised her mention the man in nothing but respectful tones, and hearing the disgust in Obito's voice made her feel a bit better. His jaw was clenched, and she couldn't help the way the corners of her lips curved upward when she noticed the bothered expression on his half-boyish half-adult features. He was thirteen already, five years her senior, and while she hadn't ever really noticed the difference in the three years they'd known each other, it was evident then. "When I become Hokage, the first thing I'll do is promote you to jonin, you'll be my personal ANBU guard, I promise! No one will be able to say otherwise, not even the old bags or that creep Danzo!"

Obito's genuine outburst made her happier than she'd been in a while, and she instantly dropped the half eaten dango stick and wrapped her arms around him tightly, wordlessly thanking him for his honest words. He took a second to reciprocate her hug, but when he noticed she wasn't loosening her hold, he wrapped his arms around her as well, squeezing her small frame lightly. "You didn't have to drop the dango, you know."

"I'm sorry, Obito! I'll make it up to you, I swear!" She let go of her tight grip on the boy, noticing the light blush that tinged his cheeks and the way he scratched the back of his head in a slightly awkward manner before clearing his throat.

"It's okay, I was trying to celebrate without even telling you what we were celebrating!" Her eyes widened, and she mentally chastised herself for letting her own dilemma cloud over her memory of what was happening that day. Before she could congratulate him, the glum look on his face alerted her to the fact that something was bothering him, and he spoke before she could even ask. "I told Rin, but she was too busy celebrating Kakashi's jonin promotion to celebrate with me."

Kasumi abruptly stood, tugging on his hand forcefully enough to make the grip he had on his dango loosen, which made him drop the treat. Without turning back, she led him clumsily towards the cabin in the woods she called home, being careful to let him focus his chakra to his feet as they crossed the now wide river that she frequented with Kakashi. She knew where the silver haired boy would be after such a huge accolade, so she let her full focus fall on the Uchiha attached to her hand.

The quietness coming from the usually boisterous boy was the opposite of what she was used to from him, but she continued on her path nonetheless, and when they reached their destination, they quickly discarded their shoes at the door before entering. "Okay, what are we doing?"

"Sit." She motioned to the small table in the kitchen, and he hesitated before deciding to do as she instructed. He looked a bit defeated in the way he crossed his arms over the table and rested his head over them, and she couldn't help the tinge of anger she felt towards her medic friend for brushing him off so absentmindedly. With a quick shake of her head, she brushed the ugly feeling aside and got to work, taking out the ingredients she would need for her celebratory gift.

She worked silently, letting him mull over his thoughts until she could hear the way his soft breaths deepened, a clear indication that he had fallen asleep, and when she finished her meticulous job of decorating the vanilla cake with strawberries and a perfect '_Congratulations Obito' _written in chocolate, she placed it before him before softly nudging him awake.

He slowly roused, wiping a trickle of stray drool off his cheek before opening his eyes, and when his dark orbs focused on the small cake before him, they widened with appreciation. "Congratulations Obito! I know how hard you worked to catch up to Kakashi, and while he might've been promoted to jonin, I'm sure you'll catch up to him in no time and even pass him up, _future Hokage!_"

They ate most of the cake while he gave her a detailed account of how he had managed to snag the promotion, and she was in awe at how he did it all without relying on the eye his clan was known for possessing. "I haven't awoken it yet, but if I had, I'd be past Kakashi by now."

"You're more than the Sharingan, Obito. The same way I'm more than my bones." He seemed to ponder on her words for a second, before quickly nodding his head in agreement.

"Still, I don't see what you and Rin see in him." The words he spoke took her a minute to process, but when she realized what he had said, she almost choked on the piece of strawberry in her mouth. He noticed, and quickly handed her his glass of milk, speaking as she gulped it down. "Shisui is the one who noticed, it annoys him."

"Shisui abandoned me, what would he care." She only noticed how hard she'd been gripping the empty glass of milk when Obito's hands came over her own, carefully plucking her tense digits from around it. Once he set the glass down, he soothed her hand, carefully trying to relax her joints from the way they still curved over the item that was no longer in its grasp.

"I see why you would think that but you're wrong." His next words came out softer, almost as if he were trying to keep prying ears from listening in. "The first thing he does when he comes back from a mission is seek you out to make sure you're okay. You might not sense it, but they don't call him _Shisui of the Body Flicker _for nothing."

Her heart thudded loudly in her chest, and the need to tell him how wrong he was grew deep within her chest but didn't quite make it out. Before she could even say anything, he stood from his seat, stretching quickly before grinning widely at her, almost as if letting her know he was over the conversation. "We have a mission tomorrow, so if you want to congratulate_ Bakashi _on his promotion, you better get going. Thank you for the cake, _Angel-girl_."

A soft rustle outside her kitchen window made her quickly turn, but the only thing she saw was a small crow perched on her windowsill, head tilted sideways as if asking her if she was fine. Its eyes seemed to be glowing a vibrant red, but before she could do a double take, it fluttered off into the night sky, leaving her to realize that she was alone. Obito had already left.

…

It took her a second to gather her thoughts, but one glance at the digital clock on her oven let her know she'd have to rush to catch Kakashi before he decided to go to bed, so she clumsily climbed up to her room, grabbed her guitar from it's stand, and rushed out into the chilly night, quickly cursing herself for not changing into something a bit warmer.

The June weather irritated her, from the scorching heat of the day to the bone-chilling cold of the night. It was a stark contrast, almost like the two boys who had just earned their promotions, and she chuckled absentmindedly at the comparison. Her bones buzzed under her skin, silently protesting the weather, and she wrapped her arms around herself to try and keep herself warm, but the blow of the wind was cruel, and her arms did little to shield her from it.

When she finally reached his home, she had to force her fingers into curling up to knock at the door, and she was grateful when it instantly opened. Kakashi quickly gripped her arm before dragging her inside his much warmer home, and when he closed the door and turned to look at her, the annoyed look in his eyes made her flinch involuntarily. "Are you crazy? Did you not know tonight was the last night of the cold front?"

Kasumi felt embarrassed, and before she could snap back with a rude retort, he threw a long-sleeved shirt at her, obscuring her view completely. The shirt smelled new, and it took her a second before she managed to gather herself and tug it off of her head, but when she did, she instantly noticed the red pattern of the Uzoshiogakure symbol emblazoned on the upper sleeve. "You can have it; they gave me plenty."

"Congratulations." She murmured as she removed the guitar from her back and tugged the much larger shirt over her small frame. It fell a bit above her knees, and she had to roll the sleeves up in order to uncover her hands, but she was grateful for the added layer of warmth.

"You've come bearing gifts?" The nonchalant tone in his voice made her want to pick up her guitar, bludgeon him with it, then head back home, but she rolled her eyes instead.

"Something like that. I've been working on something for a while, and I finally finished. You'll be the first to hear it." Kakashi tried to hide the interest in his eye, but she saw it before he could. Instead of chiding him, she took a hair band from her wrist and quickly tied her hair back into a messy bun, before picking up her discarded guitar and playing the beginning tunes of the first song she had ever finished.

'_I spent a long time, watering a plant made out of plastic, and I cursed the ground for growing green. I spent a long time, substituting honest with sarcastic, and I cursed my tongue for being mean.' _The surprised way his eyes widened a bit and his lips slightly parted let her know he recognized the tune. It was the same song she'd been working on the day after they met, and she smiled softly before closing her eyes and continuing.

'_And weightless, breathless restitute, motionless and absolute, you cut me open, sucked the poison from an aging wound.' _He'd been the first to alleviate the loneliness of Jiraiya's departure, and he'd stuck by her side, introducing her to the other two people she'd befriended, and for that she would forever be grateful.

'_Now fifty-thousand war cadets, would cower at this long white hair, to my surprise not six feet tall, who'd reach and grab the moon if I should ask, or just imply, that I wanted a bit more light so I could look inside his eyes and get the color just right…' _She slowly opened her eyes and met his gaze, and the mesmerized look that marred his eyes gave her the courage to not break contact. It was evident she was singing to him about how she felt towards him, and even more so that he could see it.

"That was pretty short for a complete song." Had it not been for the playfulness behind his words, she would have really smashed the guitar over his head, but she laughed before softly placing her finger over her lips to shush him.

'_Build love, build God, build provinces, build callouses, break promises, cause I could never hold a perfect thing and not demolish it.' _Her hand shook for a second, but when he sat before her and placed a comforting hand on her ankle, she managed to stop it.

'_What am I thinking, what does this mean? How could somebody ever love me?' _Kakashi wrapped his arms around her before she could even finish the song, and a knot formed in her throat at how easily she wore her heart on her sleeve before him.

"That was beautiful, but you should rethink the ending." His words were meant to be more comforting than judgmental, and she nodded her head as much as she could with her forehead pressed to his chest in his embrace. Kakashi was not a sentimental person, and her cheeks burned at the amount of affection she was receiving, but as quickly as it had started it ended. "Thank you for letting me hear it first. This has been the best gift so far."

"So far?!" The audacity! As much as she adored the older boy, he never failed to say something to irritate her every nerve, and when he shrugged his shoulders in an almost bored manner, she could feel her aggravation growing.

"I'm still missing gifts from Rin, Obito, and Minato-sensei." His words caused her to redirect her annoyance at the medic of his team, but once again, she swallowed it down. At the end of the day, Rin was her friend too, and as annoyed as the brunette's obliviousness to Obito's affection made her, it wasn't necessarily her fault.

"Obito got promoted too, you know." He shrugged his shoulders again, and before she could tell him off for his lack of consideration, his words stopped her.

"We all figured he would. As stupid as he is, he's pretty skilled. I hope the day his Sharingan awakens doesn't go to that already big head of his." She couldn't help but laugh, and with a quick glance at the usually stoic boy before her, she decided to mess with his head for a bit.

"Are you worried he'll surpass you, _Mr. Prodigy_?" The baffled look on his face was too much, and she quickly broke out into a fit of laughter as he murmured under his breath about having to put up with one idiot too many. When she finally managed to settle herself, she quickly remembered the mission Obito had mentioned, but before she could gather her guitar and head out, Kakashi's hand around her wrist halted her.

"Stay, we leave too early tomorrow for me to walk you home." She rolled her eyes and before she could retort that she was old enough to have graduated the academy, and skilled enough to be a jonin herself, he scoffed. "It's also too cold, you'll probably freeze halfway there."

Her bones seemed to agree, and when she finally nodded her head in agreement, they made their way towards his room. It wasn't the first time she had spent the night at his place, but something about that night made her feel giddier than usual, and he seemed to pick up on it instantly. "Do you want me to take the sofa?"

The soft way he spoke made her spine shiver, and she quickly shook her head. He'd slept next to her in a very platonic manner countless of times before, and the thought of changing that dynamic made her panic a bit. His soft breathing never failed to lull her to sleep, even on nights where she felt as if the mere act of breathing was a hard task, and before he could ask her if she was sure, she quickly disappeared into the small bathroom connected to his bedroom.

Kasumi turned on the faucet before rinsing her face in cold water, and she quickly dried it off before removing the kimono shirt she was wearing underneath his jonin shirt. When she was clad in her shorts that peeked out from underneath his oversized shirt, she headed out to notice him already on his side of the bed, eyes closed and breaths even. She silently joined him, turning her back to him and trying to calm the beating of her heart, finally focusing on the sounds of him breathing until she fell asleep.

…

He was right. The next morning, she awoke to find that his side of the bed was empty, and her kimono shirt from the night before laid neatly folded over his pillow. The second she replaced his shirt with her own, the scent of him that must have seeped into it from being placed in the spot he slept the night before instantly hit her, until her senses were drowning in notes of pine trees and musk. She relished it for a second before untying her messy hair and trying her best to brush the knots that had formed from the sloppy bun she'd kept in in through the night, and when she was sure she looked somewhat presentable, she grabbed his shirt and headed home.

The walk back was uneventful, a bit lonely if anything, and her thoughts kept going to the conversation she had with Obito the day before as they sat in her kitchen eating the celebratory cake she'd baked. He seemed convinced when he mentioned Shisui had continued to keep an eye out on her, and part of her knew it was most likely true, which in turn made her angry.

If he hadn't abandoned her, it only meant he had chosen to avoid her, and that did nothing to change the resentment she felt towards him. Kasumi had done nothing for him to choose that route, she had been a pillar for him when his mother died, and she had helped him care for the koi that swam in the pond in his garden, even after his change of heart. Part of her felt guilty, the feeling that maybe she hadn't done enough for him made her feel a sting in her heart, and when she reached her home, she quickly set her guitar and Kakashi's shirt down before heading into the bathroom.

After a long shower, the sting was still there, festering persistently until the walls of her own home felt like a cage, and she quickly grabbed the thin necklace that dangled out of her bedside dresser before rushing out of her cabin and towards the place she used to feel most at home.

Once inside the Uchiha residence, the commotions of the everyday events made her feel a bit breathless, and before she could begin to panic, an old woman sitting in a chair outside of a small shop motioned her over. With nothing else to do, Kasumi took the few steps towards her with heavy feet, and once she reached her, the woman's penetrating gaze was enough to help her thoughts settle and stop her panic from rising. "You're Shisui's friend, right?"

Her voice failed her, but she nodded her head. The affirmation was enough for the woman, who stood and went inside the shop, before quickly coming back out with an aromatic box that she was sure contained melon-pan, and another box that she couldn't quite point the smell of. "It's for Amaya's koi. If you hurry, you'll catch him before he heads out to train."

With an almost whispered thank you, she quickly rushed through the streets of the clan's compound until she reached the familiar home. It had grown the same eerie aura that her and Kakashi's own homes had since Amaya's death, and she quickly swallowed away the thought before taking the thin chain out of her pocket and inserting the key attached to it into the lock of the front door. When Amaya still lived, the door always remained unlocked, even open most times, but Shisui had grow a tendency to lock them, almost as if daring her to use the key she'd been gifted by his mother.

Once inside, the house felt empty, and had it not been for the light that peeked in from the door leading to the pond outside, she would have been convinced no one was home. She silently walked closer, until she could see his back, and she knew he could sense her presence, but chose to remain quiet. When she sat down next to him, feet barely touching the water below, he sighed.

"It's been a while." She scoffed before handing him the box on melon pan, forcing her eyes to remain glued to the fish below. She wanted to yell at him, tell him how fucked up it had been for him to ignore her for almost two years, but she knew better than to be selfish. Jiraiya had abandoned her, but he was still alive. Amaya wasn't. "I wanted to apologize; I just wasn't sure what to say."

He handed her half of a bun, a symbolic thing to do seeing as how they'd done the same thing the day they first met, but no one would be letting them know there was dinner ready this time. She silently took it, and they shared the warm sweet bread in silence, until the weight of her words was too heavy to carry any longer. "Anything would've been fine. I just wanted to hear anything from you."

She opened up the other box, which was full of leafy greens and small dead crickets and began to feed the fish below, quickly noticing Shisui's favorite koi missing. Something about its absence threw her off, and the stinging in her chest grew marginally until she was struggling to breathe. The panic she'd been experiencing before came back at full force, until she began to gasp for air.

All Kasumi could think about in that moment was that something was definitely wrong, something other than strange missing fish and reconciliations. Something out of her grasp, like the fact that she hadn't seen or heard from Jiraiya in years or that three of her favorite people were out doing something that could potentially end badly, and how all of it was wrong. She felt as if someone was holding her head under water, as if her lungs would explode from the imaginary water they were breathing in.

She faintly felt Shisui's arms wrap around her shoulders and under her knees, quickly picking her up before flickering out of his house. She could hear the fear in his voice as he repeatedly apologized and reassured her that she'd be fine, that he was there with her, and she managed to wrap her arms around his neck, tears falling rapidly and leaving a trail down the fabric of his shirt.

In an instant they were entering a house that looked similar to his, but larger, and a woman that looked like a younger version of his mother was taking her into what looked like a guest bedroom. She could make out their conversation, his frantic tone as he explained what happened and her reassuring one as a paper bag was placed over her mouth and nose.

When she finally got her breathing under control, she could do nothing more but cling to Shisui, the feeling of having lost something important weighting heavy on her heart. Too weak to offer the sweet woman any sort of thanks, she let him do the talking, and when he picked her up in the same manner he had when she was suffering from the attack, she whispered a thank you to his ear.

They made their way back to his home through the now empty streets of the compound, and she was glad he had decided not to flicker them back, the fresh air hitting her still clammy skin making her feel a bit better. "Mikoto said it was a panic attack, does that happen often?"

She wanted to tell him the truth, to let him know how fucked up she'd been feeling for a while now, how her emotions were all over the place and panic attacks were all too familiar now, but she shook her head and lied. Whether he believed her or not he didn't say, and she couldn't tell, but she felt his grip around her tighten a bit and saw the way his jaw locked. "I shouldn't have avoided you."

"Stop it." The words came out a bit shakier, and before he could protest, she placed a hand over his mouth. "It's not your fault, I don't blame you for it."

The relieved look in his eye let her know he understood that he could see she was sincere, and he said nothing. When they got back to his house, the sun was beginning to set, and even though she'd only had half a piece of melonpan to eat for the whole day, she didn't feel any hunger whatsoever. As if he'd read her thoughts, he murmured for her to stay while he made dinner, and she nodded her head before heading out back towards the pond, where the two white boxes sat on the engawa.

She picked up the one with the food for the koi, spilling the contents into the water as she watched the fish gather below, and when she noticed the fish that had been missing earlier come out from behind a bush hanging over the pond and join the others, an uneasy feeling settled in the pit of her stomach.

"I hope you don't mind miso soup." She quickly tore her eyes away from the fish and joined Shisui at the table, thoughts of bad omens and her precious people fading to the back of her mind as she forced herself to eat and conversed comfortably with the boy beside her.

…

**I forgot to mention it last time, but the song Kasumi was 'writing' is a real song by the amazing Halsey, which you should definitely check out if you haven't already. The name of the song is **_**'Forever… (is a long time)'**_** from her new album titled **_**'Manic'**_**, which is where I got the name for the story. Why do you think Kasumi suffered a panic attack? Do you think Fugaku was right about the koi? The events of this chapter happen three years after last chapter, so Kasumi and Shisui are 8, Rin and Obito are 13, and Kakashi is 12.**


	5. It's Getting Harder Every Day

It was supposed to be a warm night, that had been the first thing to set her senses off. When she had stealthily slipped out of the safe embrace of Shisui's arms and the warmth of his bed, she had made her way as quickly as possible to the gates looming before the village, ones she'd only ever been through once, the night Jiraiya had brought her. Kasumi had found a rooftop to sit on easily enough, one that left her hidden from anyone below but let her see who came in and out through Konoha's gates. She'd never been one to believe in hunches, but something about the way her bones buzzed with anticipation helped her decision to run off to her current destination.

The scent of Shisui enveloped her almost in the same manner as her chakra did, the comforting smell of coconut oil and a hint of smoke that seemed almost prevalent in the Uchiha compound did nothing to ease the growing guilt she'd begun to feel. She should have woken him up, let him know she was leaving, or at least left a note, but she'd been too distracted by the slightly painful way her bones shifted under her skin.

As Kasumi sat, head propped on her knees with her arms around her legs, she thought of her life in the village. She loved Konoha, it had taken her in thanks to Jiraiya and the old man, and although many kept their distance from her, it was still home. But as much as she loved her home, she couldn't deny it had started to feel more like a cage. She longed to be out on the field, to make use of her kekkei genkai and make sure her friends and loved ones were safe. To protect the village she loved. To prove to everyone just how ready she had been to be an active shinobi. In a split second, her senses alerted her to an incoming presence, and she quickly shoved all thoughts aside and focused on her new companion.

It didn't take her long to put a face to the essence, she'd never been able to forget just how frightened she'd been the night she first met Orochimaru, and while the Sannin no longer had the same effect he did before, he still managed to make her skin crawl. She waited on him to initiate conversation, since he'd been the one to seek her out after so long, and when he took a relaxed seat next to her, she ignored the action, mimicking the same composed aura.

"Oh, don't be so _stiff_. I have something for you." She kept her eyes forward, locked on the open village gates, not bothering to turn to him even as she heard the rustling sound of his hand fishing for something in his hip pouch. Her eyes finally broke away from the gate when he dangled a delicate silver necklace with an intricately engraved petal design covering it. "Take it. Open it."

Kasumi hesitated for a second, but curiosity got the best of her and she took the jewelry from his cold pale hands. It seemed like a regular necklace, nothing seemed the least bit off about the beautiful piece until she twisted the small cylinder pendant and it clicked open. "What is this?"

Inside the pendant was a white powdery substance that reminded her of confectioner's sugar, but the smell was nothing like the sweet scent of the baking ingredient. That substance smelled like an odd mix of dry flowers and herbs with a hint of gasoline, and the latter made her feel uneasy. "I know about your…episodes."

She finally turned to him, and when she saw his eyes focused on the same gate she had been previously staring at, she felt herself relax a bit. She had expected him to mock her, to have a half grin stuck on his snake-like features and for him to poke her about how she'd never be a shinobi, but he looked composed, almost thoughtful, and when she said nothing, he continued. "We're more alike than you'd believe. That," Orochimaru pointed at the pendant still in her grasp. "That is a concoction I mixed up, a medicine, if you will. It helps. There's a small snuff spoon on the screw off top. You fill it up and inhale and you'll come down from your attacks."

"Why should I trust you or this medicine?" He remained silent for a minute that seemed to last a bit longer than that, but when he finally spoke, she was caught off guard by his words.

"Because I'm the only one who will try to help you and succeed rather than deeming you a mental case, something Konoha has a history of doing." Her blood ran cold after his statement, and something about his _generous _deed felt instantly wrong.

"You don't seem like the type of person to do things for free." A sinister smirk spread across his face, and before she could throw the pendant at him and refuse it, his hand was wrapped around her smaller one instantly, tight enough that she could feel the way the chain and pendant would leave an imprint in her hand.

"I'm not. One day when I see that you're sick of being disappointed by the _will of fire_, I'll look for you, and you'll answer my call. That is how you'll pay me back." Before she could reply, he was gone.

Kasumi stared at the necklace still dangling in her hands, before quickly slipping it over her head and under her kimono top. The silver was cool against her skin, but she ignored the feeling, too busy with thoughts of the substance hidden inside the pendant. Would it really work? Was it even safe? Before she could question it any longer, she felt a familiar chakra approach, and she quickly calmed herself before it reached her.

"You could've told me you were leaving; I was worried." Shisui's serious expression made her stomach feel heavy, but before she could even reply, his head snapped sharply towards the village gates, and when the incoming chakra signatures finally hit her senses, she joined his line of vision.

"I think it's best if you go home for now." That was the confirmation she needed, a silent agreement that she hadn't been wrong, something was off. Kasumi ignored his request, instead taking off towards the tall gates, but he was faster, and before she could even try to slip away, she was pinned to a building out of sight to anyone coming in or leaving the village. "Kasumi, _please_."

"Just let me see! One glance Shisui, and I swear I'll go home and wait for you to fetch me!" She could feel herself becoming more and more agitated, but Shisui's grip on her wrists didn't budge, and she knew the only way he'd let go at that point would be to go on the attack. "I'm sorry."

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, her bones erupted in an almost eloquent manner, sharp and smooth like thorns on a rose. Shisui moved just in time to block, and she used the way he let his guard down as an advantage, running towards the gates as fast as she could before he could try and capture her again.

Just barely walking through was a group that no longer seemed like a team. Minato looked composed, but his piercing blue eyes gave him away in a manner that made her heart clench tightly in her chest. Rin had a haunted look to her, as if she'd seen things she'd never be able to forget, and Kasumi could already feel the tears forming in her jade eyes. Kakashi looked worn down, and his left eye was closed, a scar running down from above his eyebrow to below his cheekbone. When he looked up towards where she had thought she'd been hidden by the shadows, her heart stopped.

Mismatched eyes, one onyx, the other a glowing harrowing red met her jade ones, and she felt the blood drain from her face. Obito was no where in sight, he was the missing person. Kakashi quickly looked away, as if he'd seen an apparition rather than her, but before she could even try to approach him, Shisui's hand gripped her wrist tightly. "Now's not a good time, _go home_."

Kasumi turned to him to protest, but the somber look on his face made the words she was about to speak disappear. Obito was his older cousin, almost a brother. Another name had been added to the list of loved ones Shisui had lost, and nothing she'd ever gone trough could compare. She knew her mother was dead, but she hadn't been able to form a bond with the woman to properly mourn her, and Jiraiya was gone, but still alive.

In an instant she nodded her head, quickly wrapping her arms around the Uchiha. Shisui stood frozen for a second, and her heart cried out for her to do something better to comfort him, but the feeling dispersed the second he reciprocated the action. "I'm heading back to the compound; I'll see you later."

He flickered away almost immediately, but not before she could see the gleam of fresh tears in his eyes. Shisui was hurting, Kakashi was hurting, Rin was hurting, and Obito was _gone_. Four people had walked out of that gate and only three had returned, and she couldn't help but think of how different things might have been if she'd been able to back them up, if she'd been there to prevent anything from going wrong. Kasumi took one last glance towards where she'd met Kakashi's eyes, but he was long gone.

With shaky feet she took one step forward towards the direction of her house, and then another, and when she was finally convinced she could run home without collapsing, she took off. She ran faster than she could remember ever running, the usual morning sounds faint in her ears as the beating of her heart drowned them out. She could see the blurry outlines of people getting ready for their day, some heading towards the training grounds, some to the academy and others simply opening up shops, and she longed to be a part of something other than the loneliness of her forest home and the pain in her heart.

She slowed down when she saw the outline of Kakashi's home, and when she noticed the lights on, her heart caught in her throat. She wanted to see him, wanted to check on him, but Shisui's words lingered in her mind. Would it really be too soon to approach him? He'd seen her there; he'd looked right _through _her. The thought made her quicken her pace, but something caught her by the ankle just as she was passing the road in front of his home, and in a moment of cloudiness, all instinct drained out of her and she fell to her hands and knees.

She tried suppressing her chakra immediately and stood up to make a quick exit, but he'd noticed her outside, quickly sliding open the front door to reveal him dressed in all black, customary funeral attire. She should've known they'd move so fast, she thought to herself, and the image of everyone dressed in black to commemorate the spirited boy seemed wrong. Obito being gone seemed wrong. "Kakashi, I'm sorry-"

"You should go get ready. The funeral begins in about an hour." His voice was casual, which caught her by surprise, but she could still see through him from his only visible eye, the Sharingan covered up by the tilted forehead protector he wore.

It was all happening way too fast for her, she'd stayed up waiting for her friends to get back since midnight, and the sun had risen only an hour ago, although it was now hidden beneath dark and heavy clouds, almost as if the sky was mourning the loss of the bright ray of light that Obito was.

"I don't have anything to wear." It was the first thing that came out of her mouth, but it was also true. She'd never been to a funeral, and she didn't own anything black. Kakashi nodded his head before leading her into his home, his shaky hand enclosing over her wrist. "_Please_, talk to me."

He kept quiet as he walked to his room, and she followed, hoping he'd open up, but instead, he pulled out a pair of black clothes from a deep corner of his closet. "Try these."

She hesitated for a second, torn between asking him to talk to her again and listening to his request, but the way he looked at her made her take the garments out of his hands before slipping into the restroom attached to his room. The dark clothes fit a bit big, but not uncomfortably so, and the color contrasted against her pale skin and white hair the same way she had stood out in the Uchiha compound, which only served to remind her of the panic attack she'd suffered there.

A part of her was convinced the odd koi missing had been a premonition, the reason she'd had such an intense panic attack. She tried to shove the memory to the back of her mind, but it was only replaced by Obito's smiling face, the same smile he'd had when she'd baked him a cake, and the realization that she'd never see it again made her skin itch in a way she knew wasn't normal. A knot formed in her throat, and a quiet knock brought her out of her thoughts for a split second. "Did they fit?"

"Yes, give me a second, I'm going to wash my face." Her voice was meek, and if Kakashi had noticed, he didn't mention it. Kasumi quickly turned on the cold water on the sink and splashed her face, but the icy water did nothing to relieve the pinprick sensations she felt on her skin. Her heart began to ache, and her breaths became shallower, and when she placed a shaky hand over her chest, she felt the thin material of the necklace she'd been gifted by the snakelike man.

With a quick tug, the necklace came out from under her shirt, and her growing agitation clouded out any sane thought. She unscrewed the pendant and followed the instructions the Sannin had provided her with, and when she had the snuff spoon under her nostril, she closed off the other one and inhaled.

The substance was disgusting. It coated the back of her throat, and she could feel the way it dripped down close enough to her tongue for her taste buds to touch. An almost numbing sensation was present in her throat, and when she thought the Sannin had failed at creating a medicine to help combat her mental health problems, it hit her. Kasumi took a glance at herself in the mirror, and while she looked the same on the outside, she felt amazing. It was as if all the bad emotions that had plagued her mind not so long ago had disappeared and were replaced by an absolute feeling of euphoria. She brushed her curly hair out of her face and tied the long strands back into a neat braid before exciting the restroom.

"Let's go."

…

The funeral had been dark and somber. She'd stayed perched on a tree branch nearby after deciding it would be better to let the remainder of Team Minato pay their respects together and seeing the serious expression on Shisui's face as he stood tall and proud with the Uchiha. Standing on her own would've been something that bothered her, but thanks to Orochimaru's concoction, she felt the closest to okay that she'd felt in a while. When Kakashi and Rin remained the last person at the memorial, she chose to keep her distance.

The two seemed to converse seriously in hushed tones that she couldn't make out, and she was grateful for it. Something about the way they stood close to each other was discomforting, and she could only imagine the words being exchanged, but when Rin cradled Kakashi's head in her hands and pressed her lips against his, the need for imagination was no longer necessary.

The effects of the powder seemed to instantly melt away, and without caring if they saw her or not, she hopped off the branch she'd been perched on and ran from the memorial, tears blurring her vision before sliding down her cheeks. With a quick tug, she freed her hair from the confined braid it was in, and it quickly fluttered loose in its usual curly manner, framing her face with a few strands sticking to her tear stained cheeks, and when she reached the still lively village market area, she slowed down her pace.

Shisui made his way through the middle for the busy crowd in a sophisticated manner, like a sleek black cat walking a tight rope. He hadn't noticed her presence, and when he walked into the bakery where she used to frequent with Obito and Kakashi, she followed. The door chimed its usual melodic tune the moment she stepped inside, and still, Shisui ignored it, almost as if he'd been caught in his own genjutsu. Only when she placed her hand on his outstretched hand did he finally acknowledge her.

"I thought melonpan was some sort of Uchiha favorite, but it's not." Shisui chuckled softly, but the sound didn't reach his melancholy eyes, and the sight of him made her chest burn at how much he resembled Obito. "It's just sweets in general."

"This feels wrong." Shisui paid for his sweet bread before turning to her with a confused expression, but the wheels were turning in her mind, and nothing was making sense. Obito had left the village full of life, hopes, and dreams. The only thing that had returned was one of his newly awakened Sharingan implanted in his best friend. "I refuse to believe he's gone."

Shisui gave her a once over before shaking his head and beckoning her to follow him. Without a word she complied, and they silently made their way out of the market and into the quiet road leading to her home. The closer they got to passing up Kakashi's house, an uncomfortable feeling grew in her stomach, and when they finally reached it and Shisui tugged at her arm to stop her, she froze. "What are we doing here?"

"I need you to hear what happened. I don't want you holding on to any hopes about what happened to Obito." Shisui's tone was cold, and when she tried to slip out of his grasp, he tightened his hold on her wrist and knocked. Kakashi slid the door open, a confused look on his face at seeing both her and Shisui at his door, but when he took notice of the steel-like grip of Shisui's hand on her wrist, his eyes hardened.

"Let her go." Rin's concerned face peeked out from behind Kakashi, eyes rimmed red as if she'd been crying, and Kasumi felt instantly guilty for feeling bothered about what she'd seen earlier. Shisui dropped his hand from her wrist, and Rin instantly brought her inside. She followed the brown-haired girl in a mechanical manner, only bothering to look up when Kakashi slid out to join Shisui outside of his home.

"Is everything okay?" They sat at the kitchen table, and Rin instantly took the wrist Shisui had been holding in her soft hands, green chakra glowing and encasing it in its warmth. "That way, it won't bruise up tomorrow. He was holding on pretty tight."

"It was my fault, I-" Before she could finish her sentence, the slamming of the door startled them. At the sight of Shisui, Rin stood up abruptly, making her way towards him in a threatening manner, and when she lifted him up by the collar of her shirt, Kakashi intervened.

"Obito is _dead_. We saw it! He gave his life for Rin and me, we saw as the boulder crushed him! Don't disrespect his memory and us by insinuating that we're _liars_!" Kakashi bore a cold and calculating look on his features that made her blood run colder than his words had. She hadn't meant what she had said in the manner that Shisui and Kakashi had taken it, and when she realized Rin probably felt the same way, a knot formed in her throat, leaving her speechless.

"You guys are _assholes_." Without another word, Rin grabbed her by the hand and led her out of the house and away from the two angry boys. "Let's go to my house, I don't feel like being alone. What do you say?"

"Okay."

…

**So, I had mostly written this chapter almost a month ago and barely got around to finish it because I started feeling somewhat off. I'm just now feeling better which is why I decided to finish it, and even then, I'm not so happy with the ending, it feels rushed. Buuuuut as you guys probably already noticed, I'm following the original story line pretty closely, and the next event is Rin's abduction and death. So far, both Shisui and Kakashi are grieving and kind of taking it out on Kasumi for holding on to hope that Obito is alive. Rin is the only one on her side right now so they're going to bond! Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! And stay safe among this pandemic!**


	6. Get Me Out Right Now

**AN: Lmao yes Swiggs, you're sort of right, it does sound like cocaine because I based the 'medicine' off of cocaine! I feel like Orochimaru would be the kind of guy to do some stuff like that for a vessel. I'm also using the 'medicine' as a sort of starting point to the curse marks. Hope you guys like this chapter, I was gonna make it the first chapter I switch the POV from Kasumi to Kakashi or Shisui, but I'm not sure I even want to do that, let me know what you think!**

**...**

Kasumi felt restless. Two months had passed since Obito's death. Since she'd last spoke to Shisui or Kakashi. Since she'd been subjected to Orochimaru's unpleasant presence. He had been right about his concoction, she hadn't had any attacks since she started taking it, but she also hadn't gotten much sleep either, and it was taking a toll on her. Her appetite was almost inexistent, and while her stamina was almost tripled when she was under the substances influence, her bones were starting to protest.

That's how she found herself awake in the middle of the night, a victim to her own aching bones which refused to let her get any sleep. Without giving it a second thought, she slipped out of bed and slipped on a pair of shorts and the jonin shirt Kakashi had gifted her the night he'd been promoted. It was late, and she had nowhere to go, but she could no longer stand being in her home.

Once outside, the cool night air instantly soothed the ache in her bones, and she let out a sigh of relief. Her head was slightly throbbing, and she felt a bit lightheaded, but she still felt better outside her house than in it. She quickly gathered herself, took a step forward towards the worn-out path that led her to the village, and then another, and without thinking she let her feet guide her.

Walking had felt almost like a dream, and part of her felt like she would've been safer staying home, but from the slight ache of her feet she knew she was too far to turn back, and when she ended up at the cemetery, she was less surprised by the fact that she had no clue how she'd gotten there than by Rin's kneeling before Obito's grave. "Kasumi?"

She made her way towards Rin with shaky steps she hadn't taken notice of before, and when she made it to her, she collapsed to her knees, her weight suddenly too heavy to bear. The brown-haired girl looked concerned, and she quickly reached a hand over towards her face. When her palm touched the skin of her cheek, she instantly pulled back. "Kasumi, you're running a fever!"

"I don't want Kakashi and Shisui to hate me, Rin. I already lost Obito, I don't want to lose them too!" Rin instantly scooped her into her arms, and while she didn't make a sound, Kasumi could hear her shallow breathing and feel the cool tears falling on the top of her head.

"That's not going to happen, okay? Shisui doesn't hate you, and I _know_ Kakashi could never hate you." Keeping focus was becoming harder to do, and when Rin loosened her grip and let her go, she managed to keep her balance. Rin's cheeks were tear-stained, the sight of her friend in emotional turmoil did nothing to better mood. "You should spend the night at my house, yours is too far to make it back in your state, and the hospital is too."

"I'm sorry, Rin. Somehow I seem to always find a way to mess things up." It was true. She'd always questioned what her purpose in life was, something a bit cynic for someone so young to be thinking about, but her life so far had been filled with sorrow. It seemed as if everyone she got close to either left her or died, and she seemed to be the only common denominator. As if hit by a sudden epiphany, she flinched away at the soft feel of Rin's hand on her arm. "You should stay away, I seem to bring bad luck to anyone who gets too close, Kakashi and Shisui have probably already caught on…"

"Kasumi that's not true, can't you see? Kakashi has changed since he met you, and in the best way possible…" Rin trailed off for a second, and when their eyes finally met, she could see the honesty and hurt in them. "I can't speak much on Shisui, but I can tell you this, Kakashi has a deep adoration for you that he probably hasn't even admitted to himself yet."

"You're a good person Rin. I see why Obito loved you." They sat in silence after that, the mention of Obito hanging heavy in the air and suddenly putting an end to the aches in her body. "What are you doing so late out here anyway?"

"I couldn't get any sleep; I've been feeling watched lately… I probably sound crazy…" She let out a small awkward laugh, but thoughts of Orochimaru ran through her mind instantly, memories about feeling watched and being right, about slithering snakes and yellow eyes, and a sense of panic set in instantly.

"You don't sound crazy at all; I know the feeling." Rin seemed interested in her reply, and she quickly changed her sitting position, crossing her legs beneath herself more comfortably before speaking.

"Were you right?" Before Kasumi could answer something landed between the two of them, instantly startling them. "What the hell?!"

Smoke instantly cleared both their vision, and out of what she'd learned from both Kakashi and Jiraiya, she instantly covered her mouth and nose with her arm. Rin had less time to react, and when she stumbled forward, Kasumi quickly placed her back towards her, letting the brunette fall perfectly aligned onto her back. Rin was slightly taller than she was, but she managed to hold her weight up, and when a shuriken flew towards her, she countered it quickly with a digital bullet, instantly setting it off its path.

"I thought we were gonna get her once the smaller one left!" A gruff voice reached her, and as the smoke started to lift, she managed to make out five outlines before an eerie mist began to take its place. Her heart was beating erratically, and the adrenaline from the unexpected attack instantly cleared away the headache she'd previously had.

"Do you not recognize the obvious traits on her, idiot! She's from that pesky _Kaguya_ clan!" At the sudden mention of her surname, her blood ran cold, and she quickly made a run for it. Jiraiya had schooled her in the history of her clan, and the fact that random shinobi had attacked and recognized her left a bad taste in her mouth. The Kaguya name was most notably known by Kirigakure, and the mist made it more obvious that the men were from the Bloody Mist.

The thick mist made it hard to see, and the weight of Rin on her back made it even harder to maneuver through, but she continued regardless. But as she continued running, it seemed the mist thickened, and the feeling of being trapped made her feel paranoid, which did nothing to help the situation. "Are you lost little Kaguya?"

Kasumi quickly turned and was met by a masked man standing tall and unbothered, as if it was just a regular night for him. His mask had two lines on the forehead area, and deep blue fangs across each cheek, but what unsettled her more were the slits on the eyes, shaped in an almost jovial way. She slowly stepped back, trying to put as much space as she could between the two of them, but he mimicked her, taking a step forward for every step she took back. "What do you want from us?"

The man tilted his head before letting out a small chuckle that sent a chill down her spine. Her back was beginning to protest Rin's weight, and she inwardly begged herself to hold on for just a bit longer. The man extended his arm and then his index finger, and she quickly followed his movements, but he was merely pointing at Rin. They wanted her, but the thought made no sense in her head, what could they possibly want with the brown eyed girl? "We came for the girl, but I recognized you… anyone worth a cent in Kiri would be able to recognize you, you'd fetch a good bargain girl… either for your _kekkei genkai_, if you even possess it, or for your limbs!"

The man quickly lunged forward and made a grab at her, and instead of dodging him, she allowed him to lock his hand around her wrist. He instantly let out a cruel laugh, but it quickly turned into a hiss when the bones in her arm quickly ripped through his hand and down his arm. The squelching sound of his flesh tearing apart as he forcefully pulled his arm out of the grasp of her bones made her feel nauseous, but she bit her tongue to distract her mind as he set a string of curses her way. "You fucked up kid!"

Instantly, the figures of the other nin became visible through the thick mist as they made their way towards her, and through her panic, she managed to keep track of one she'd just injured, until she felt a burning sensation on the side of her neck. Rin's weight was suddenly lifted off of her back, but her vision became clouded, and her limbs felt heavy. She forced her hand to touch her neck, and when her fingers closed over the small vial still attached to it, the last thing she saw was the man making his way towards her, bloody arm dangling useless on his side, and Rin on his back. "You better be worth the damage you did."

**…**

"I'm positive they're trailing us captain."

"That's good, that's what we want, we let them get back the jinchuriki, but we keep the Kaguya, that's my cash calf right there."

"Yes, captain!"

She wasn't sure how long she'd been out, and she was too cautious to take a peek at her surroundings in fear of letting her captors know she was conscious. The conversation she'd managed to hear had left her confused, she knew she was the one who the man she'd injured expected to make money from, but who was the jinchuriki? Jiraiya had taught her of the tailed beasts, and of how Konoha had possession of the nine tailed fox demon, which currently resided in the beautiful Kushina Uzumaki, so nothing made sense. Did they think Rin was Kushina? "I know you're awake."

She ignored the voice, but when she heard the familiar sound of a shuriken coming her way, she quickly maneuvered herself into a crouched stance and countered the incoming weapon with her own arm bones modified as a sword. "Watch it kid, or I'll kill your friend."

Next to the man was Rin, tied up to a post with a thick braided rope. Her eyes were open, but completely glazed over, a clear indicator that she was trapped in a strong genjutsu, and resting at the nape of her neck was the tip of the man's katana, sharp and glistening thanks to the bit of light coming from a single torch perched on the wall of the cave they were in. She instantly dropped her weapon and lifted her hands up, and the man sheathed his sword. "Didn't take long for your scum friends to come for you, they must know what piece they lost on their chessboard when we took you."

Kasumi ignored the man, instead opting to take a seat on the floor, legs crossed beneath her. The man's arm was bandaged messily, and the scent of charred flesh was strong in the air, a clear indicator of the lengths he'd gone to stop the bleeding. When he noticed her glancing, he snarled, making his way towards her in a threatening manner, but she kept still. They were in his turf, the advantage was his, and anything she did would put Rin at risk. "You think this is funny?"

She remained silent, but the silence did little to calm the angry man before her, and when he aimed a kick at her ribs, she let it land, her ribs instantly hardening to soften the blow, but when he noticed, he lifted her by the collar of her shirt until they were eye to eye. "You're lucky I can't cut you up, it lowers the value, you see. But a few bruises shouldn't make much of a difference!"

Kasumi braced herself for a punch in the gut, but he struck her in the face, completely catching her off guard. The stinging in her cheek was excruciating, but she swallowed the whimper that wanted to come out of her mouth and kept a straight face. Before the Kiri nin could follow up with another attack, two other nin joined them, interrupting his onslaught. "We can't get in touch with Squad B, communication has been cut off!"

"I'm gonna check it out, you two keep guard at the entrance. Whatever happens, make sure this one right here doesn't get away." He instantly dropped her on the floor, giving her one last hard kick on her side before heading out of the cave, the two Kiri nin on his trail. She hadn't expected the last attack, therefore her bones had done little to shield her, and the pain on both her face and side was excruciating, but one glance at her friend tied up and dazed made her strengthen her resolve.

Just as she managed to get on her feet and take her first shaky step toward Rin, a loud explosion resonated from outside the cave, and she heard the frantic voices of the men that captured her loudly through the sounds of falling debris. "It's the Leaf! A Leaf shinobi!"

"Kasumi! Rin!" Kakashi's voice was a sure reassurance that they'd be okay, and when he made his way towards her with all eight of his ninja hounds behind him, single eye focused on her injured face and the way she cradled her left side, she shook her head frantically. "I'm sorry, I should've never snapped at you!"

"I'm okay! Rin, I think she's under a genjutsu!" Kakashi nodded his head and instantly made his way to Rin, a worried expression etched on his visible features. He quickly untied her and released the genjutsu, and Kasumi joined him, standing next to him as their friend regained her senses.

"Kakashi! Kasumi!" Hearing Rin's voice was a relief, she'd been worried their abductors had done something to her while she'd been sedated, but she seemed perfectly fine compared to how she herself felt, and she thanked the gods for it.

"Let's get out of here!"

As they made their way through the corridors of the cave, guided by the sharp nose of Kakashi's ninja hounds, the same pair of Kiri nin that the man she'd angered had sent to guard the cave intercepted them. "Get her!"

"Hurry!" Kakashi rushed them out through a makeshift tunnel, one she was sure was probably made by his hounds, and the Kiri nin set on their trail, but before they could enter the tunnel, one of Kakashi's hounds, Bull, let out a loud bark, quickly closing off the tunnel with fallen debris.

They ran fast, and her legs were starting to protest, the pain in her side becoming unbearable, but she wanted to be as far away from that cave as possible, and away from the cruel man who'd hurt her. Once out of the cave, she was relieved to see the light of the golden hour, covering everything in its deep warm glow. The small bit of relief was disrupted by Pakkun's familiar voice, ordering to keep going. "Go! We'll divert the enemy."

"Thanks, I leave it to you."

"Save it. Kasumi owes us all treats, we've decided." She nodded her head, tears blurring her vision before giving Pakkun a quick chin scratch and joining Rin and Kakashi. "If we're driven into a corner, we'll make a run for it too."

"Let's go, Kasumi, Rin." Rin hesitated, and a confused look spread across her features. Something was off, she could feel it overwhelming her senses, more so than the pain from being struck in the side. Part of her knew the feeling was familiar, she had felt it the night before Obito's death, but the other part of her tried to suppress it, scared to have her first panic attack in two months in the middle of escaping Kirigakure ninjas.

"I…feel strange…" Rin's words did little to alleviate the feeling growing in her chest, and she quickly brought a hand to her neck, feeling for the thing she reached for in situations like that, but she found nothing there. The Kiri nin had taken her necklace. Orochimaru's medicine.

"We have to escape first." Kakashi seemed to be addressing them both, and when he took her hand and gave it a soft squeeze, it confirmed it. He'd noticed her jitteriness, clear indicators she was on the way to having a panic attack, but the feel of her hand in his kept the feelings at bay.

"Scatter!" At the sound of Pakkun's voice, Kakashi let go of her hand instantly, and they all did as instructed, the hounds towards the cave and the three of them to the forest.

**…**

Kasumi had no clue where they were. It was her first time out of Konoha, and not under the circumstances she would've liked. They'd been running for quite a while, and the sun had already set, and while she knew they had to keep quiet, all she wanted to do was talk to her friends, get reassurance that they were near their home.

"I feel it." Rin's voice broke the silence, and her confession alarmed her, but she pleaded with herself to keep her cool. She didn't want to do anything to burden her friends in their effort to get back home safely, so she quickly remembered how comforting Kakashi's hand over hers had been and persevered, but Rin continued. "I feel like there's someone, something else inside me."

The words struck in her mind instantly, putting the pieces together like a puzzle. The conversation she'd heard earlier between the man that had tormented her and one of his underlings finally made sense, the jinchuriki they had been talking about was Rin! Panic set in instantly, but Kakashi spoke before she could say anything herself. "What are you talking about?"

"I don't know." Kasumi tried to find her voice, but the panic was setting in faster. She could still keep up with their speed, but her voice refused to cooperate, and when she let out a small whimper, both Rin and Kakashi turned her way, but the sound of incoming voices disrupted them.

"_There they are!"_

"_Don't let them get away!"_

They quickly turned back but were met by three Kiri nin already ahead of them. Kasumi felt pinpricks all over her skin, but the fear of being captured took over her panic, and a rush of adrenaline helped her overcome her sudden anxiety. Kakashi quickly pulled out a kunai, and a look of determination replaced the concern he previously had. "We have to get past them!"

Kasumi nodded in agreement. Two of the Kiri nin went her and Rin's way, the same that had stayed behind in the cave when Bull closed them in, and the fact they were involved in making Rin a jinchuriki strengthened her resolve. "I haven't shown this to anyone before. You should feel honored."

"Don't mock us!"

"_Dance of the Willow." _The two men lunged at her, and she instantaneously produced long sharpened bones out of both her shoulders, her palms, and her elbows. With eloquent and graceful moves, she dodged her assailant's attacks, instantly perforating them both before they could retreat and retry. The sound of her bones plunging through them like a knife through steak was pleasant, the taste of revenge even sweeter on her tongue. Not even the warm blood that stained her cheeks and arms bothered her.

"Let's go!" Kakashi's voice snapped her out of her thoughts, and she quickly followed him, Rin steady beside her. Concern was written all over her face, but they were still being followed, so she kept her thoughts to herself. Rin would be fine, the same way Kushina was okay.

"The Hidden Mist tried to perform some ritual on me. A special ritual. But I lost consciousness and…" Rin's voice was full of terror, and the sudden euphoria she'd felt from disposing of the two Kiri nin vanished, replaced by the slow and agonizing set in of panic.

"You'll be okay, Rin!" Her words didn't match the tone she'd used, and before she could say anything else, a sudden look of horror crossed the brunette's vision, like she'd just seen an apparition, and she audibly gasped. Kasumi wanted to pause, something felt suddenly wrong about the whole scenario, but the Kiri nin pursuing them were closing in. "

"They're persistent!" Kakashi paid no mind to what Rin was saying, too focused on getting them out of danger, but Kasumi was feeling terribly wrong about the way things were going, and when Rin spoke next, it made even less sense.

"I can't return to the Leaf Village!" The words seemed to suddenly hit Kakashi, and the bewildered look on his face made her chest ache. He quickly turned to her, as if looking for an explanation from her, and she felt like a fox caught in a bear trap.

"What is she talking about?" She opened her mouth to attempt to speak, but Rin beat her to it, shocking them both in the process.

"Kakashi, Kasumi, one of you has to kill me now!" Her heart was beating out of her chest, she could feel its pounding in her ears, and her mouth ran dry instantly. Everything was going terribly wrong, and nothing made sense.

"What are you saying, Rin!?" She could hear Kakashi's frantic voice through the pounding in her ears, and she quietly waited for Rin's reply. The Kiri nin were getting even closer, and she wasn't sure she'd be able to ward off another attack.

"They're using me! If I return, Konoha may be attacked!" Rin was pleading at this point, and Kasumi knew that whatever they'd done to her went beyond sealing a tailed beast inside of her, but she refused to raise a hand against her.

"I promised Obito that I would protect you! I can't do such a thing! And you can't ask Kasumi to do that either!" She shook her head in agreement, tears streaming down her face at that Rin had asked of them, before finally finding her voice.

"I heard them mention a jinchuriki, they sealed a tailed beast in you, but if we get you back to Konoha they can _help_. Kushina is okay, you'll be okay too!" She could hear the Kiri nin, close enough to make out their mocking laughter, and it infuriated her.

"Kasumi is right! I'll get rid of them, now go!" She had faith in Kakashi, so she pushed forward, but Rin resisted, and before she could take a hold of her arm and drag her away, she slipped out of her reach and towards Kakashi and the Kiri nin's direction.

"Rin!" She quickly trailed after her, but the medic nin knew her surroundings, and was able to put a good gap between the two of them. Still, she forced her feet to close the distance, and just as they reached the cliff Kakashi had chosen to lead the Kiri nin to, she lunged towards Rin, hand outstretched and aimed at her wrist. She'd miscalculated the distance. The tips of her fingers barely gracing the skin on the inside of her wrist.

"_Take care of him." _

Kasumi hit the ground hard. Before she could even get on her two feet, the sound of a thousand agitated birds filled the air, and the palm of Kakashi's hand illuminated the field before her. She tried to scream for him to move, but she could barely hear her own voice through the sound of her beating heart mixed with Kakashi's lightning, and as if time slowed down, the scene before her happened in slow motion. Rin jumped in the way of Kakashi's attack. The loud squelch of his fist ripping through her chest pierced through the noisy battlefield. Everyone paused, almost as if in disbelieve of what had just occurred, and Kakashi's horrified expression gave her the push she needed to finally move her frozen limbs.

She quickly rushed towards him, calling his name as loudly as she could, but he had gone into shock as Rin's lifeless body now laying on the ground before him. Nothing made sense, but before she could reach the still boy, she felt a rough tug at her hair, pulling her back and down to her knees, but she fought back, sharp bones protruding from her body and ripping through the flesh of her attacker. A sickly smell filled the air, and she recognized the man lying behind her instantly, the man who'd captured her and Rin.

Before she could react, a pained yell brought her out of her thoughts, and she quickly turned towards it. A hooded figure with a white mask covering his face stood on the other side of the battlefield, his chest rising and falling in a wild manner that sent fear running through her body. Rods and branches ripped their way out of his right side, and she froze in her spot, captured by the scene before her.

"Who is that guy?"

"Reinforcements, maybe?"

"What a fool! Jumping in alone!" The last Kiri nin to speak launched a barrage of shuriken towards the hooded man, but he remained in place, doing little to dodge the attack. When the shuriken passed through him, Kasumi instantly jumped to her feet, running as fast as her feet could take her to her friends. The man that joined the battlefield was strong, and Kakashi was unconscious. She had failed to stop Rin, now she was the last line of defense between Kakashi and the people around them.

"I won't…accept any of this!" She recognized the voice immediately. The sound of it was the same as it had been the last time they'd spoke, but it was filled with pain and rage.

"Do not mock the Blood Mist Village!" Obito attacked, but Kasumi kept her eyes on Rin and Kakashi, silently praying for the night to be over, for reinforcements to appear. Obito was there, but she could feel the dark aura radiating off of him in waves. This wasn't the same Obito she'd known. She wasn't sure she could trust him.

She could hear the sounds of flesh tearing, organs being pierced. The metallic scent of blood permeated the air, and every breath she took filled her lungs with the pungent scent, but she didn't dare to look back at the carnage, too afraid of what she'd see. Rain began to fall from the sky, pouring down as if against the actions happening below, drenching her small frame.

"At least grab the girl!" The familiar voice of the man who she thought she'd gotten rid of rang in her ears, and she felt the eyes of every remaining Kiri nin on her, spotting her through the foliage of what she was sure was ripped apart bodies and blood. "Don't hand the Kaguya over to the enemy!"

Kasumi finally turned back, forced her body to react until her bones plunged out from under her skin, ready for the incoming men, but Obito was faster, instantly stopping their attack. She tried to look away, but her eyes remained glued to the way he disposed of them, the branches piercing through the bodies of the assailants in a disturbing way. This couldn't be Obito. This person possessed the coveted Wood Style, that much she knew. It sounded like Obito, but it couldn't be.

When he finally noticed her standing guard over Kakashi and Rin, he made his way towards them slowly, as if to not frighten her, but it did little to comfort her. The closer he got, the stronger her need to protect Kakashi and Rin's body from whoever it was under the mask, and when he finally stood about a foot from them, every bone in her body had extracted itself from under her flesh, ready for any attack.

"I'm sorry, _angel-girl_." Faster than she could fin the words to come up with a reply, Obito was before her, red eye glowing and spinning furiously. The last thing she saw was his face as he laid her down next to Kakashi. Everything went black after that.

**…**

**I'm pretty sure this is my longest chapter in anything ever. Maybe. I'm proud of it, I feel like I did an okay job integrating Kasumi in a good way into the scene of Rin's death. The Kiri nin who recognized her wanted to try and make some money by selling her as a weapon or selling her for her body parts to be used in rituals. I got the idea from reading about the persecution of people with albinism in Sub-Saharan African communities and then reading about how Kirigakure treated those with Kekkei Genkai after their efficiency during times of war. I feel like the 'Bloody Mist' wouldn't be above rituals using people with special abilities. This chapter is also the first time Kasumi has had to kill, so we'll see how she reacts to it in the next chapter when she has time to process what has happened to her, as well as Rin's death. At the end, Obito puts her in a strong genjutsu, what do you think that was for? Do you think she'll remember seeing him at all? We'll see! Hope you guys enjoyed it!**


	7. What Does This Mean?

Faint voices, almost like hushed whispers. It was the first thing Kasumi could force her mind to concentrate on, and from that, opening her eyes was easier. The bright lights of the hospital room made her instantly shut her eyes closed, and when she felt that she could finally adjust to the lighting, she slowly opened them again. "You scared me, kid."

It'd been a while since she'd last heard his voice, and she took a second before turning her head to meet the gaze of the older man sitting next to her, accompanied by a beautiful blonde she'd only ever seen in pictures he'd shown her when she had been but a toddler. She turned her head back towards the ceiling, closing her eyes and letting out a slow breath. Kasumi couldn't remember exactly why she was there, and she was too afraid to ask, but she knew it was bad from the fact that Jiraiya was there.

"Here, drink." She took a second to sit up, taking the paper cup once done and brought it slowly to her dry lips, drinking the cold water greedily. Her mouth had been dry, and the comforting coolness of the water instantly helped. Once she'd downed the last drop, she cleared her throat before attempting to speak.

"Why am I here?" The question seemed to concern Jiraiya, she noticed from the look he shot the blonde woman beside him, who in turn closed her eyes as if trying to discern how to break down some bad news, but Jiraiya placed a hand on her shoulder before she could speak.

"You and your friend Rin were kidnapped by shinobi from the Hidden Mist." That was all she needed to hear. The memories flooded her brain and played out like a film; from the moment she'd joined Rin at Obito's memorial to the moment Kakashi lost consciousness. Things blacked out after that, but the sight of Kakashi's arm through Rin's chest remained burned in her retinas, and the fact that it had been her fault for not moving fast enough hung heavy in her heart. "Kid, can you remember any of it?"

Kasumi nodded her head. She remembered more than she wanted to, enough to see that she'd been completely inadequate as a support pillar to her friends, and it _hurt_. She had lost Rin, too soon after Obito, and she didn't even know how Kakashi was. Had the enemy reached him before reinforcements arrived? How had she made it back to Konoha? "Kakashi?"

"He's fine, he was discharged yesterday. You're free to go too, but I'm positive you'll be summoned by old man Sarutobi soon enough." The blonde promptly exited the room, leaving her and Jiraiya alone. She wasn't sure what to say to the man, she'd spent the last years being angry at him, but none of it mattered at that moment. She was completely devastated, torn between not knowing how to process the loss of Rin and worrying about Kakashi, and she wanted nothing more than to go home and bury herself in her bedsheets.

"I'm sorry, Kasumi." Jiraiya looked somber, but his words were genuine, which confused her. Yes, she'd been angry at him, but deep down she'd always known leaving wasn't exactly a choice he'd made on his own, he had been doing it for her and the villages safety. Somehow the apology she'd always wanted to hear made her feel selfish, and she shook her head, tried to let him know it was fine, but he continued. "I shouldn't have tried to shelter you so much, but I was too worried about _The Foundation _or anyone with questionable intentionstaking interest in you. There won't be a person in Konoha who doesn't know about you after what you did."

_After what you did. _The phrase distracted her from the fact that she had no clue what he meant by The Foundation, and that someone like that had in fact already shown interest. She'd had done nothing aside from being a nuisance, blacking out while the enemy surrounded them, what exactly had happened? Jiraiya must've noticed the confused look on her face, and his brow furrowed, once again in concern. "Kasumi, you don't remember what you did?"

"The only thing I did was fail my friends." Jiraiya shook his head, and he took a while to respond, as if searching for the right words to say, but she could tell that for once, he didn't know how to reply. It was evident that she wouldn't be comforted by anything he said, not when she'd lost another friend.

"You couldn't save Rin, but you saved Kakashi." She scoffed, ready to retort that she'd blacked out half a second after he had, but Jiraiya raised a hand, a silent plead for her to hear him out. She caved in, more from the need to force her tears back than to listen to what he had to say. "When reinforcements reached you and Kakashi, they reported they'd seen you dispose of the last two Mist assailants at the same time before losing consciousness. They checked out every cadaver in sight, and all of them save for one had wounds consistent to your kekkei genkai."

"Rin." She'd been the only one with a different wound, a wound too large and too charred to have been caused by her Shikotsumyaku, she could still smell the scent of burnt flesh, and her fingers instantly dug into the mattress beneath her. Jiraiya nodded his head, confirming her assessment. "But I blacked out before that, right after Kakashi, that can't be right!"

Kasumi could feel herself growing agitated. Nothing made sense, she remembered exactly when she blacked out, or at least, where everything blacked out, but they'd _seen_. How could she possibly argue something that had been witnessed? "I know it's a lot to take in, but sometimes the brain blocks out memories that are too traumatic in order to protect itself."

Jiraiya's explanation was something she knew was true, but it still felt too unreal, so much so that she wanted to continue to fight it, but there was no point when all evidenced proved otherwise. "How long have I been out of it?"

"Two weeks kid. Were already a week into September." A knock on the closed window alerted them to the presence of two ANBU operatives on the other side, and without another word, Jiraiya slid the window open. "Already?"

"Lord Sandaime requests her presence." Their masks were different to the eerily creepy ones the Mist nin donned, but the fact that she couldn't see their faces still managed to shake her a bit, so she looked away from the three men who were now discussing something in hushed tones she didn't care to decipher.

When they finally left, muttering underneath their breath, Kasumi finally forced herself to get out of bed. Had she been anyone else, she knew the lack of movement would've made the action of standing harder, but her unusual bone structure remained the same as always, ready to keep her pushing through. Jiraiya had brought her a change of clothes, she could tell by the choice of a childish overall dress that she had grown out of the year before, and the plain white tee that accompanied it, but she did nothing to complain, instead taking the clothes and stepping into the small restroom attached to the room.

The overall dress hung a few inches above her knees but wasn't as snug as she'd remembered, and once she was done, she saw her reflection in the mirror above the sink. She looked thin, thinner than she'd been before, but mostly exhausted, which she was. She washed her face quickly and tried to comb through her frizzy curls with her fingers in a bland attempt at managing them, but she quickly gave up, exiting the restroom shortly after putting on the new pair of black sandals that had been provided. "I'm ready."

...

Being in the presence of old man Sarutobi never made her feel as nervous as it did at that moment. He looked serious, more so than she'd ever seen him, and the elders carried the same expression as well, but the only person that didn't sit right with her was the man that joined them as well.

"Danzo, what do you think?" The man looked the same age as the old man but looked the complete opposite. Danzo seemed cold, calculating even, with a hint of superiority surrounding him, and she didn't like it. He was staring at her with a look that reminded her of Orochimaru, and she absentmindedly brought a hand to her neck where the necklace he'd gifted her previously rested, only to find that it was still missing. As if noticing the action, Danzo shot a small grin her way before answering the elders.

"I think she'd be a great addition to _The Foundation_. It's insult enough that none of us knew about a Kaguya in the village." Not once did he take his eyes off her as he spoke, and she could feel the tension radiating off of Jiraiya enough to realize that this _Danzo_ was bad news, but that didn't distract her enough from the truth he'd exposed; the elders had no clue she existed. She shot old man Sarutobi a questioning look, but he refused to meet her gaze.

"She does have remarkable abilities, but it's to be expected after being raised by Jiraiya." The woman, Koharu, added. She felt like a piece of premium beef at the market, and it bothered her, but she remained quiet as to not offend them and make Jiraiya look bad.

"You flatter me, Koharu. But I really think you should let me train her for a little longer. She's too young for Root, and too old for the academy." Danzo's jaw clenched noticeably, and she had to look away before he caught her staring. Koharu and Homura murmured to each other for what seemed like the longest minute ever until Homura spoke.

"You've been an important figure in the frontlines, Jiraiya. I'm not sure it would be a smart decision for us to allow that."

"Nonsense." Old man Sarutobi spoke at last, capturing the attention of everyone in the room in the way that only a respected leader like him could. He set his gaze upon her, and she could see the wisdom behind his eyes that let her know he knew what he'd been doing the whole time. "This war is coming to an end, Jiraiya can return. But I'd like Kasumi to recall what happened, like we agreed we would before making a decision."

"We heard what happened from the reinforcement squad, Hiruzen!" Danzo was losing his patience. It was the first time she'd ever heard anyone raise their voice at the calm man, and also the first time she'd heard anyone refer to him as anything other than 'old man' and '_Lord Sandaime'_, yet he remained cool and composed.

"No, Sarutobi is right. What happened that night, Kasumi?" As soon as Koharu spoke her name, all eyes were on her, and she forced herself to relax, taking in a deep breath before going as far back as her memories allowed her to. She'd been feeling ill from the effects of refusing to continue dosing herself with Orochimaru's 'gift' the night she'd met Rin at the cemetery, but she omitted that detail before beginning.

"I couldn't sleep, so I went to the cemetery to visit my friend, Obito. Rin… she was already there, so I joined her, and we talked for a bit." Rin's worried expression clouded her mind. Her doe like brown eyes, soft and full of concern. Her soft palm on her clammy cheek. Kasumi forced herself to shove the images to the back of her mind before continuing. "They caught us off guard. Threw a smoke bomb with sleeping gas in it. I managed not to breath any in, but Rin did. They wanted Rin, I wasn't sure for what, but when their captain saw me, he decided to take me for my kekkei genkai. I tried… I tried to hold them off, but they managed to inject a sedative in me."

"Tsunade said they gave her enough to knock out Gamabunta." Jiraiya added.

"When I regained consciousness, we were in a cave, I heard them talking about a jinchuriki. I wasn't sure what they meant… Rin was caught in a genjutsu. Kakashi showed up not long after and we managed to escape, but Rin began to panic… she said she felt strange, that something was in her."

"Kirigakure put a tailed beast in her." Danzo's monotone voice when speaking of what happened to Rin made her want to pluck his uncovered eye out, but she bit her tongue and nodded her head.

"They pursued us. Rin started asking us to kill her, we weren't having it. Kakashi fell back so we could get away, but Rin followed after him. I tried to reach her, but I was too late…"

"Kakashi Hatake had already killed her." That was the last straw. She moved fast, but Jiraiya was faster. He was holding up Danzo by the front of his robes with a look she'd never seen on his face before. He was seething, and Danzo's unbothered expression only served to anger him more, but before things could escalate, old man Sarutobi stepped in.

"That's enough, Jiraiya." Jiraiya let go of the cruel man, and part of her wished he'd pummeled him instead. He had been out of line, and she could feel the hate she felt for Danzo radiating off of her in waves. "Don't speak out of line, Danzo."

"Kakashi didn't kill Rin. She jumped into Kakashi's Chidori. He lost consciousness right after, I blacked out…" The rude man didn't acknowledge her, instead turning towards the elders as if expecting them to reprimand Jiraiya, but they were speechless. "If it's all the same to you, I'd like to remain under _Master Jiraiya's _tutelage."

She was itching to get out of there, to go check on Kakashi, and she no longer cared if they noticed it. Nothing mattered, not even finding out that the old man had lied to her about the elders being the reason she couldn't join the academy, that they had no clue she even existed. They talked amongst themselves for a second before finally turning to her and Jiraiya. "We think that would be for the best, but she must take a genin exam before that. She has no recollection of what she managed to do, and talent like that must be put to the villages use."

_She_. It was like they didn't acknowledge her presence in the room, and it bothered her more than it should have, but their terms were simple, and she had no other choice. Jiraiya looked to her, as if to gauge a feel of what she wanted to do, and when she nodded her head, he spoke. "Give us a week to go down to the academy for the genin exam. Kasumi just woke up, let her recover."

"Very well. We'll be expecting the results."

...

"We have quite a lot to talk about, but it can wait. Go do what you have to do, I'll see you later on tonight." Kasumi thanked her luck for the fact Jiraiya let her off the hook, nodding her head in silent agreement before making her way towards the market. She'd only made it a few feet away before she heard her name be called out through the growing sounds of the lively commerce. "I'm glad you're alright kid."

She'd missed him, as much as she'd resented him when he'd stopped writing, she'd truly missed him. Kasumi shot him the brightest smile she could muster before making her way deeper into the market, where she instantly noticed all the minor details she'd missed before. The different smells, from the savory scent of yakisoba, to the wonderful smell of clean linen, to the odd scent of polishing oil from the weapons shop across the bakery she adored. Being in the clutches of that Kirigakure captain had convinced her she'd never experience any of those things again, and remembering that Rin was the one who would never experience it made her feel full of guilt.

Would Kakashi blame her? Kakashi who had fallen back to help them get distance enough between them and the enemy to reach safety, would he blame her for failing? She remembered being able to dispose of two nin pursuing them, hearing the way her bones tore through their flesh, how their warm blood stained her skin. She'd been able to do that thanks to the adrenaline kick she'd received from almost being recaptured, she could still remember how her skin had buzzed with the added rush, but it hadn't lasted very long, she _knew _had there been more than two she wouldn't be in Konoha. Why didn't any of it feel right?

The scent of freshly bloomed peonies brought her out of her thoughts, and when her eyes landed on the beautiful flower shop with its different arrays of bouquets and arrangements, she made a beeline for it. She'd been unconscious for two weeks, she knew she'd missed Rin's funeral, and her hands shook as she opened the door to step inside. Kakashi could wait a bit, she had to visit Rin.

Kasumi purchased two bouquets of white lilies, one for Obito and one for Rin, before making her way to the cemetery. It was still bright out, barely midday, and she hoped the area wouldn't be as empty as it usually was. The last time she'd been there was when her nightmare had begun, and she could feel the growing fear in her chest the closer she got, but she forced herself to continue.

It was empty save for the lone figure standing not too far off from her. There, before a newly set up grave, stood Kakashi. Her knees felt weak at the sight of him, the fear that he'd berate her for letting Rin run back to him and the Kiri nin was eating at her, and part of her begged her to turn back and return later, but she stayed. He noticed her presence, but he said nothing to acknowledge it. When she reached him, one look at the new headstone let her know it was Rin's.

She silently placed a bouquet atop the headstone before stepping back next to the quiet boy. She silently made a prayer, begging Rin to forgive her for not being fast enough, for being useless until the end. She could feel the tears slowly making their way down her cheeks, but she remained silent as to not disturb him, but he had already noticed, and although she could quiet the sounds, she couldn't hide the way her lips trembled or the damp trail her tears left. "I'm—I'm really sorry!"

Kakashi remained silent as she sobbed into her hands, too ashamed of falling apart in front of someone she'd done so wrongly by. She couldn't bring herself to meet his gaze, too scared he'd be looking at her with disgust, something she deserved. She felt his firm hands wrap around her forearms, and when he forced her hands away from her face, she noticed the way his eyebrows furrowed. His forehead protector was gone, and the tears in his mismatched eyes made a sharp pain shoot through her chest. "I'm the one who promised Obito to look after her, it's wasn't your fault."

She'd never seen Kakashi so vulnerable before, and the sight absolutely shattered her. She wanted to make him feel anything other than how he felt at that moment, he'd been through enough for one lifetime, so she wrapped her arms as far as she could around him and held on tight. Words wouldn't be enough to express how badly she wanted him to be okay, and her own grief and pain took a backseat to his feelings. "I know you're done with promises, but I promise not to ever let you feel this way again."

He said nothing, and she panicked for a second, thinking she'd said the wrong thing, but he wrapped his arms around her and embraced her just as tightly as she did him. "We're gonna be alright."

"We're gonna be alright." She let him go, wrapped her hand around his and led him down to where Obito's headstone rested. His hand felt clammy, and she could tell he felt nervous about stopping there, but she had bought a bouquet for Obito and it would be better for him to get it over with instead of avoiding it until he no longer could.

Once they reached it, she handed him the bouquet, and he took it, placing it tenderly on Obito's headstone. They both stood there for a while, eyes closed and hands in prayer, but something bothered Kasumi. Being at Obito's headstone didn't feel right. Something in her brain kept her from acknowledging the fact that he was gone, something that hadn't happened with Rin, and she thought it had been the fact that she hadn't been there to witness what happened to him but that wasn't it. She tried to rack her brain for an explanation, to the point where she was beginning to get a headache, and then it happened.

A single image, like an eidetic memory, stood vividly in her mind. A spiral mask with only one eye hole on its right side, drenched in blood. She tried to focus on the memory, but it was instantly replaced by a painful thudding in her head and a spinning pattern that she'd seen emblazed in the red orbs of the Uchiha clan. "Kasumi, are you okay?"

Only when she opened her eyes did she realize she was out of breath, a thin coat of sweat covering what seemed like her whole body, and she quickly nodded her head, but Kakashi didn't seem convinced at all. She knew she'd sound crazy if she let him know what had happened, and it was the last thing she needed, so she forced herself to muster up the most genuine smile she could. "It was just a sudden headache."

If he didn't believe her, he kept it to himself. They stood there at Obito's headstone for what only felt like five more minutes, but the sun was beginning to set, and Kakashi looked more exhausted than he was letting on. "I don't want to…but Jiraiya is waiting for me at home. He wants to talk."

"That's fine, I'll walk you." Kasumi wanted to protest, he really did look like he needed rest, but she knew it would be futile, so she nodded her head. Their eyes met, and when she realized he wasn't breaking contact, she began to shift in her spot, suddenly self-conscious of whatever it was he saw when he looked at her. He raised a hand slowly, and she could feel her heart beating loudly in her chest until he tucked a stray lock of wavy hair that had fallen out of place behind her ear. "Your hair has seen better days."

_Did he really just…? _Kasumi wanted to strangle him, but the relief that a bit of the usual Kakashi was still somewhere in him was enough to let his comment slide, enough to make her forget for a second about the suppressed memories in her mind, the man in the spiral mask. She huffed in annoyance before taking his hand in hers and leading him down the path that led them back to the village center and on the way to her house.

The walked in silence, but a comfortable silence that she'd only ever experienced with him, and the closer they got to her house, the more she could feel him fidgeting, his fingers moving every so often in the grip of her hand.

When they reached her home, she could see the lights on inside, a sight she hadn't seen in quite a while, and she turned to the boy trailing behind her, only to find him already looking at her. "We're gonna be alright."

"We're gonna be alright." Something about the way he said it seemed odd, but he was gone before she could say anything else. The front door to her home loomed over her, and she braced herself for whatever conversation she'd be subjected to before silently slipping in.

The scent of yakisoba instantly reached her nose, and she spotted the white-haired man setting a plate for her, his already set in his usual spot. Her appetite was surprisingly nowhere to be found, but she knew it would be odd of her to refuse her favorite meal, so she walked over to the kitchen sink and washed her hands before taking a seat across from Jiraiya.

"Thank you for the meal." They ate quietly, and it was obvious he was bidding his time, trying to figure out a way to start the conversation. Her eyes were glued to the steamy noodles, and she moved the various pieces of cabbage and carrot around her plate, hoping he wouldn't notice she wasn't eating as much as she usually did. He remained silent, stealing a glance her way every so often, and she pretended not to notice until she no longer could. "I'm okay."

"Are you though? You've been through a lot." He set his utensils down, and she followed suit. He was looking at her in an almost analyzing manner, and although she hadn't seen him in four years, it hadn't made it any easier to learn to be unreadable to him. "Tell you what, I'll listen. You do the talking."

"What am I supposed to even talk about exactly?" She had made sure to sound as sarcastic as she could, but it was an honest question. She didn't know where to start. So much was on her mind at that moment, from wanting to question him about why the old man lied about the elders and why he had stopped writing her, to telling him about what she remembered at the cemetery. Should she even mention Orochimaru? The man had done nothing out of the ordinary, or at least that was what she told herself, but still, something seemed wrong about him, and she feared how Jiraiya would react.

"Anything, kid." He really wasn't helping much, but his voice was sincere, and she knew he was just trying not to be pushy, almost as if testing the waters around her, and she supposed she couldn't blame him. He hadn't seen her go from a toddler to a somewhat self-sufficient eight-year-old, so he didn't know what she was like now. He didn't know about her panic attacks. Or the lingering anxiety.

"Okay then. You stopped writing. And the old man had been lying to me this whole time about why I couldn't enroll in the academy. He said the elders didn't want me to, but the elders didn't even know I _existed_." She made sure to emphasize the last word, and she'd forgotten to mention she was not as upset about his lack of communication with her as she was everything else, but it didn't matter. Jiraiya crossed his arms before nodding.

"One of my messengers got intercepted on the way to you, but he managed to swallow the letter before being disposed of. I didn't want to run the risk of anyone catching wind of you, so I didn't write again. It's also why the old man and I never corresponded about you." It made sense, and she felt a bit ashamed for not having come to that conclusion on her own, but she'd been younger then, more naïve, and it had _hurt_. She nodded her head to that explanation, a clear indication she was over that subject. "As for the last part, that wasn't his fault. I figured Danzo would want to get his grimy hands on you as soon as he realized just who you were, and I promised your mother I'd care for you, which is why I didn't sign you up on any official registries, so there was no way for you to join the academy. No way for the elders to know about you."

"Is Danzo the only person you were trying to keep me away from?" She knew the question would raise some red flags, but if it did, he hid it well. Orochimaru was his teammate, a member of the _Legendary Sannin_ like himself, but something just felt wrong about the way he'd only come around when Jiraiya had left.

"What makes you ask that?" And just like that he'd flipped the script on her. She tried to come up with a good retort, but she stumbled on her words, and she could feel her cheeks flush red at her mistake. "Who have you crossed paths with that has made you feel the need to ask that?"

"I—I know I said I blacked out the night of Rin's death, but earlier on I forced myself to try and remember being conscious and doing what the reinforcements said they saw me do, and I saw something odd." She had wanted to keep that to herself, too scared of being deemed as losing it by the person she looked up to the most, but something made her feel ashamed about what had occurred with Orochimaru, and she knew Jiraiya would have lost it had he found out she took something from the serpent-like man. It had been the typical 'don't take candy from strangers' scenario and she had failed. "I saw someone donning a white spiral mask with only one eye hole, on the right side. It was covered in blood. I tried to remember more, but the three tomoe symbol of the Sharingan instantly appeared in my mind… like some kind of wall."

Bringing up the image she'd remembered had opened up another can of worms though, she could tell by the way Jiraiya's brows furrowed in a concentrated manner. "Did you tell anyone else about it?"

Kasumi shook her head. She'd been with Kakashi when it happened, and the swirling tomoe of the Sharingan she'd seen, like a screen in her mind, had made her keep it to herself. She contemplated for a second whether she should tell Jiraiya about it, but ultimately decided not to.

"Good. Let's call it a night kid, I've got some stuff to look into, and we have business to attend to tomorrow." _Business? _He let out a hearty laugh, one she'd missed the carefreeness off, before answering her silent question. "Our first day of training after a four-year hiatus!"

Once she'd helped clear the table, she'd gone up to take a shower, something she'd been wanting to do since she'd seen her reflection in the hospital restroom mirror. The warm water soothed her, and she welcomed its warmth, standing beneath the shower head far longer than necessary, eyes closed in silent contemplation.

She hadn't seen Shisui since she'd upset him, and a part of her felt slighted knowing he hadn't even bothered to visit her. Until she realized she hadn't even asked Jiraiya. The forgetful man was never one to bring up things like that unless asked, so she quickly ran out of the shower, drying herself off as fast as she could and tugging on a regular periwinkle kimono top and some black shorts on before running downstairs where the man sat completely enthralled in a pile of papers; most likely his book work.

"Did anyone visit me while I was out of it?" She was breathless by the time she finished the question, and he pondered on her question in an almost comical manner for what seemed like an eternity. "TUH-day please!"

"Maa, I almost forgot! Shisui Uchiha was there every day, poor kid looked so crushed!" He scratched his head in an almost apologetic manner, and she angrily muttered something along the lines of '_you're getting senile already_' before rushing out of the house, ignoring his comments about regretting missing sleep tomorrow. Shisui had been worried, which meant he was no longer as upset at her as he'd been before, so she made her way down to the Uchiha residence as fast as she could.

...

The first thing she noticed was the complete increase in security. It was alarming, but then she realized why a clan of their caliber would make that decision after having Kirigakure shinobi slip into Konoha undetected and slip back out with two of its inhabitants. She had planned on simply slipping in like always but decided walking through the main gates would be the safer option. The Uchiha men in their Police Force uniforms looked like they meant business, and the last thing she needed was coming off as a threat, so when she reached the two scowling men guarding the entrance to the compound, she offered them a small smile, bowing politely as a sign she meant no trouble. "Good evening. I was hoping to see if I could visit a friend of mine."

"Who's your friend, kid?" The tallest of them asked, and from the way his scowl stayed in place, even as he'd spoke, she figured he'd just been born with it.

"Shisui Uchiha." The men both nodded their head before letting her through, and she internally sighed at how easy it had been to get that over with, but then figured they'd have no trouble seeing if she was anyone else than who she was portraying to be. That was the thing with the Sharingan, you couldn't fool it. The moon had risen long before she'd decided to stop by, and by the time she reached the familiar house, she hoped she hadn't caught him too late.

Kasumi brought a hand to her neck, instantly realizing she'd forgotten her key before mentally cursing herself for her minor slip up. She'd rushed to get ready and head over that she'd completely forgotten to grab the necklace that kept the key to Shisui's house safe from the nightstand she kept it in, and she quickly gathered up the courage to knock. She felt nervous. Jiraiya had said Shisui had looked upset, but had it been because he thought she wouldn't make it? Had he gone back to being upset at her once he realized she was fine?

The door opened suddenly, snapping her out of her thoughts. It was obvious he'd just stepped out of a shower, mostly from the way he'd forgone a shirt and stood before her in a pair of dark blue sweatpants with a white towel in one hand, which he instantly dropped the moment his eyes landed on her. They stood there silently for a second, until she saw his eyes go from their usual charcoal to the ruby red color of the Sharingan, tomoe spinning wildly, and although the sight made her heart beat the way she imagined a deer's heart would as it ran from a wolf, she stayed put. He didn't mean harm, she could see that much, and when he let out the most relieved sigh he'd ever heard before he pulled her in his arms, eyes back to their normal color. "I had to make sure it was you—I thought I'd lost you!"

His skin was warm as always, and she would've attributed to the fact he'd just showered, but his skin was always warm, something that seemed particular to him. "I was only unconscious, don't exaggerate."

He pulled away, a serious look on his face, and she could tell there was something he'd seen that had bothered him from the way he gazed at her. "Kasumi, when they brought you back, you were drenched in blood…head to toe. I wouldn't have known it was you without my eyes…"

It was almost hard to believe, considering how clean she'd been when she'd finally woken up. Even as she'd showered, there'd been no sign of blood at all, but she knew he wasn't lying. She'd could tell by the way she could feel his erratic heartbeat against her chest as he'd held her. "It's okay, I'm okay."

He stepped out of the doorway so she could step inside, and he picked up the towel he'd dropped before closing the door behind him. He'd lit incense, something he only ever did on the day of his mothers birthday, but she didn't bother asking about it, instead opting to follow him into his room, taking a seat on his bed as he pulled a shirt out of his closet. "I feel like I'm always apologizing… but I really am sorry. For the way I acted the last time we spoke… and for Rin."

Kasumi nodded her head, offering him a small genuine smile. He was right, he was always apologizing, but the last time hadn't been just his mistake. She said nothing of it though, too anxious to let it go to waste another second on one of their fights, and she quickly changed the subject before he could continue prodding. "I'm taking the genin exam a week from now. Jiraiya is back to train me, I'm not sure for how long though."

"It took you getting kidnapped and taking down an army of Kirigakure nin for them to finally see you as shinobi material, still, that was quite impressive Kasumi." A heavy feeling set in the pit of her stomach, but again, she said nothing. The only person who knew the only thing she did remember was Jiraiya, and that was the way she intended to keep it.

"Enough of that, what's new?" He took a seat next to her, smiling brightly as he went into detail about how excited he was now that his team was the one with the most B-rank missions under their belt, and while she was happy that he was happy, a part of her filled with dread. She only had Kakashi and Shisui left, and she felt nauseous just thinking of what she'd do if she were to lose one of them. "What's wrong?"

His animated expression had been replaced by a worried one, and she instantly felt annoyed at herself for being the reason for the change. "I just missed you, that's all."

Shisui smiled once again, his sooty lashes accentuating the brightness of his dark eyes in an almost perfect manner. He was beautiful, truly, in a way that made her feel was unfair, and when she caught herself staring, she felt her cheeks blaze in embarrassment. "First you stare, and then you go red like a fresh tomato, I was certain my Sharingan couldn't be fooled, but I'm not so sure now."

"Shisui Uchiha, you're unbearable." His melodic laughter filled the room, and she huffed in annoyance, although her cheeks still felt warm. Something was different about him, and she couldn't quite place a finger on it, but she enjoyed it. Before he could poke more fun at her expense, she stood from where she'd sat next to him. "I'm outta here, you've exhausted my daily _Shisui limit_."

"Fine, one last thing though!" She turned to him, and his jovial expression was replaced by one full of genuine relief that made her heart beat faster in her chest. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"Me too."

...

**I suck at writing sad Kakashi, but I absolutely loved writing the Shisui scene, I missed him last chapter so much, and I was smiling the whole time I wrote his scene, small as it was. Jiraiya is back! And Tsunade was there for a bit, but only bcs Jiraiya forced her to for Kasumi, what a nice Jiraiya-pa! Ha-ha. Do you think Kasumi is the only one avoiding talking about Orochimaru, or is Jiraiya avoiding the subject too? Do you ship Kasumi and Kakashi or Kasumi and Shisui? Well, hope you guys enjoyed this enjoyed this chapter! On another note, I know quarantine sucks and a lot of us are turning to fanfiction to get by, so I'd like to recommend some of my favorite writers for you guys to check out!**

**DimiGex, MitsukiShiroi, Rise of the Blossom, peachandbetty and Lindt Luirae. I have a bunch more, but those are my top faves, and they update pretty consistently, which I know most of you are looking for in these trying times. If you guys need more suggestions, check out my favorited stories, there's a lot of gold there!**


	8. Underneath The Shelter Of The Balcony

AN:** Thank you for the lovely review **_**abbynicks126**_**! I've had so many moments that I feel like dropping this story from the lack of feedback, even though I can see the stats and know it gets traffic, but I absolutely adore it, and your review was more than enough to encourage me to continue!**

**...**

The old man had been right, the war didn't last for much longer after Rin's death, and while it made her feel relieved, a bitter taste was left behind. She'd lost important people, and the fact they hadn't made it to see a time of peace clung heavily on her mind, leaving an ugly feeling of resentment behind. How could peace be brought on after so many lives had been lost? She'd kept the question to herself, although it had been all she could think of as she was handed her forehead protector. "Congratulations Kasumi."

She'd always thought old man Sarutobi would be the one to officiate her becoming a genin, after all, it had only been a week since the meeting with the elders, but not many people had been happy with the peace treaty he'd signed with Iwagakure, and although she saw why he did it, she was one of them. Obito had been lost because of _them_, and the thought of being on friendly terms left her feeling resentful, but she brushed the feeling aside and offered a slight bow to the young Yondaime before her. "Thank you, Lord Hokage."

Kakashi's teacher Minato Namikaze had been named Fourth Hokage, and Kakashi himself had felt pretty optimistic about it, which in turn, led her to feel the same way. She trusted Kakashi, and if he had faith in the young blonde, she would too. As Jiraiya and his former student-now Hokage spoke, she let her mind wander to the silver haired boy. He'd been acting strange lately, a bit distant, even for him, and she'd tried to coax him into telling her what was bothering him to no avail. "Kasumi?"

"Huh?" Both men were looking her way, and it didn't take her long to notice they'd been trying to get her attention for a while. Her cheeks burned from the embarrassing blunder, and she quickly apologized. "I apologize, it's just… I've been a bit worried about Kakashi."

She wasn't one to usually confide in anyone other than the aforementioned boy or Shisui, but it was obvious Shisui didn't care much for Kakashi, and she knew Minato did. His blue eyes softened at the mention of his student, and Jiraiya kept quiet, something she knew he did when he wanted to see how things would play out. "I have too, honestly. I'm sending him on a mission, but I have a feeling he might not be completely ready for it."

Kasumi's heart began to beat erratically, and she could hear it pounding loudly in her ears. She knew Kakashi was definitely not ready for a mission, and the thought of anything happening to him made her want to throw up, but before it could get to that point Minato spoke again. "Which is why I have your first mission lined up already. Enter!"

A pair of ANBU along with an odd-looking boy who seemed to be around Kakashi's age stepped in. "All four of you will covertly tail Kakashi. Do not step in on his mission unless you deem it absolutely necessary. He heads out tomorrow at the break of dawn."

It was odd for a genin to be placed in the same squad as ANBU, but as she had no team of her own, it made sense. All members of her team voiced their understanding, and when Minato cleared the ANBU from being present, only she, the odd boy, and Jiraiya remained. "Guy, this is Kasumi Kaguya. Kasumi, this is Might Guy."

Might Guy was for sure the strangest person she'd seen. His green unitard was a sight to be seen, and his blunt bowl-cut paired with his extremely brushy brows just added the perfect touch to his bizarre look, but as strange as he seemed, he radiated the most positive vibes she'd experienced. He took notice of the way she'd been taking him in, flashing her the brightest smile ever and giving her a thumb up, and once again, she felt her cheeks warm at being caught staring. "It's a pleasure to meet you Might Guy, please look after me."

She offered a polite bow, and he extended out a warm hand towards her, which she timidly shook. "I heard you're a friend of Kakashi's, and any friend of his is a friend of mine, you can call me Guy!"

Guy was eccentric in a way that reminded her of a more extravagant version of the man who'd raised her, and she beamed at the similarity. She'd been worried about Kakashi, but had she known the boy before her was a friend of his, she would've felt a bit more at ease. "I chose the two of you not only for your skillset, but also for your devotion to Kakashi. Please, do your best."

**...**

She had wanted to celebrate her newly acquired genin rank with Kakashi, but she knew she'd act strange around him knowing that in only a couple of hours she'd be secretly tailing him, so she decided to head home with Jiraiya instead. Shisui was out on a mission with no known return date, and although Might Guy had asked her to come with him to meet some more of Kakashi's friends, she'd politely declined. The concept of meeting so many people at the same time frightened her a bit, and she also didn't want to run the risk of Kakashi spotting her and figuring out something was going on.

"Minato has faith in you." Jiraiya's words brought her back to the present world, and she wondered what he meant by that. She cared for Kakashi, truly, which would explain why Minato had chosen her and Guy to be the ones to tail him, but something about the sincere way he said it made Kasumi realize that wasn't what he meant. "You're only a genin, yet he sent you along with Guy because he has faith in your skills."

In reality, Kasumi should've seen that coming. They'd spent a whole week training, and although Jiraiya had praised the way she'd finally learned to be one with her Shikotsumyaku, she'd felt inept. Her kekkei genkai had been useless at keeping Rin alive, and it stung. How had it been possible that she was able to hold her own in a spar with one of the Legendary Sannin, but not keep her friend from committing suicide? If she'd been fast enough, Rin would still be alive and Kakashi wouldn't feel so burdened by the heavy sense of guilt wrapped tightly around his chest. It was easy to feel unworthy of her forehead protector when she remembered how badly she'd slipped in that mission. "I won't let him down."

"That's not what I meant kid." She had hoped her answer would've put a stop to him approaching the subject, but it had only opened a door, and she mentally smacked herself for not thinking of something else to say. They were passing Kakashi's home, she could she the lights on inside, and she longed to be there, watching him pack his gear for his upcoming mission instead of having a talk with Jiraiya about something she knew he wouldn't understand. When he poked her shoulder for an answer, she decided to humor him. "What is it then?"

"You need to stop blaming yourself for Rin's death. Kakashi blames himself for having an uncomplete jutsu, Minato blames himself for being out on another mission at the time of the events, and you, you blame yourself for not being fast enough—that's too much blame going around, and none of you deserve it." She avoided meeting his gaze. It was easy to hear what he was saying, to truly understand it, but to make herself feel that way was a whole other thing. She wasn't ready to let go of what she'd seen, the helpless look on Kakashi's face as Rin jumped into something he couldn't redirect. Her guilt wasn't something she could easily forget, the only thing that mattered was what Rin had asked her to do before throwing herself in the way of Kakashi's Chidori. Taking care of him. "The more you let the guilt consume you, the more it'll begin to affect your daily life, until it starts getting in the way of missions, causing you to lose even more people."

Kasumi let his words sink in quietly, and when they reached the home they shared, she silently thanked him and made her way upstairs to the privacy of her room. She paused when she caught a glimpse of herself in the body length mirror attached to her door, the sight of what stared back at her captivating her for a minute. Her long, snow white locks of wavy curls sat perfectly untouched and flowing around her, the blue of the forehead protectors' band a stark contrast against it. Her usually vivid green eyes looked a bit jaded, and she trailed a finger around the two maroon dots in the center of her forehead down to the similarly colored marks underlining her lower lids.

As a child, she'd never thought of herself as conventionally beautiful, not that it had ever bothered her, but looking at her reflection in the mirror was enough to convince her that although she still didn't feel beautiful, she was growing into her looks. After the longest of days, Jiraiya would often tell the story of how he'd found her and her mother, and he'd go into great detail of how painstakingly beautiful the latter had been, something that warmed her heart seeing as she had no memories of the woman. She'd grown to resent the way her looks were the opposite of what her mothers had been, her hair, a snowy white instead of chocolate brown. Her eyes, bright green instead of warm hazel. Kasumi had hated not being able to see a reflection of her mother in the mirror, but she was finally starting to appreciate looking like _herself_.

The melancholic mood roused a sense of inspiration in her, and she stepped away from the mirror and towards the untouched guitar leaning on its stand beside her bed. It had been a while since she'd played it, too overwhelmed by the events that happened since Obito's death, and when she finally picked it up, she was surprised to find that it had been less awkward than she'd expected it to feel. She took a seat on the sprawled-out pillows on her floor before setting the guitar down for a second to remove her forehead protector, which she gingerly placed on the bed behind her before picking the guitar back up.

She softly hummed a melody to herself, repeating it a few times before executing the idea on the strings of her guitar, and when she found a sound that she enjoyed, she quickly pulled out a pencil and a notebook from underneath her bed. Words were the easy part, and within five minutes she had the first two lines of a new song written down. _"I envy the birds, high up in the trees. They live out their lives, so purposefully."_

"I never knew you could play. Or sing." The sudden interruption caused her to instantly drop the instrument, and it landed awkwardly, hitting her knee on the way down. She let out a tiny yelp, a furious blush spreading on her cheeks as she noticed Shisui smiling brightly at her, a small red gift bag dangling from his hand. "Sorry, your window was open, and I heard you singing so I just followed the sound."

"It—it's okay!" It hadn't been the first time someone had walked in on her as she sang, but it _was _the first time Shisui had, and in a way, it seemed odd for it to make her feel so skittish. She liked to think she was as close to Shisui as she was to Kakashi, so what about the raven-haired boy made her feel so nervous? "What are you doing here, when did you get back?"

She set her guitar down, and he took a seat on the floor across from her, sliding the small bag he had brought towards her. "Just now. Congrats on passing your genin exam."

She waited a second, unsure of how to react before slowly reaching towards it. She'd never been gifted anything besides her guitar (and Orochimaru's necklace vial which didn't count at all), and her stomach felt as if a million unruly butterflies were going crazy inside of it. "I wasn't sure what to get you, had I known you were into music I would've chosen something more fitting…"

Kasumi reached into the bag, and her fingers instantly wrapped around something cool and hard. When she brought out the item, her eyes widened at the beautiful item in her hand. It was a golden hair comb with three delicate and painstakingly gorgeous white flowers surrounded by emerald crystals and beads. She was speechless, never had she seen something as stunning as the small item in her hand. She let her eyes wonder back to the boy sitting across her. His eyes were averted to the floor, a light rosy hue accentuating his cheeks, and had she known any better, she would've thought her eyes were playing tricks on her. "Shisui, this is beautiful, you really shouldn't have."

"You're finally a shinobi, and I owed you for the way I acted towards you before…" Kasumi interrupted him by throwing her arms around his neck and forcing him into a tight hug. She'd been completely over what had happened between them the minute she'd seen him after being brought back to Konoha, and she tried to make him feel it through the tight embrace she had him in. She had expected him to not know how to react, but he wrapped his arms around her waist instantly, and she could feel the way the hairs on the back of her neck stood up from his reciprocal.

"Thank you, Shisui." When they finally ended the embrace, it took her a while to calm her heartbeat down to its normal pace, and from the somewhat disheveled look on his face, she could tell he'd been trying to do the same. Had he felt the spark she'd felt when they'd touched?

"Don't mention it, I'm just glad you like it. Have you been assigned a team yet?" Her mind wondered back to her mission and her temporary teammates, and she shook her head. Jiraiya had explained how she most likely wouldn't have a team, something she hadn't really minded. "What about a mission?"

"Yep. We leave tomorrow morning." He didn't pry any more than that, he knew better than to ask details of someone else's mission, and she appreciated the fact that things were so secretive as a shinobi, as she would've felt guilty lying to him. She was going to add that she'd most likely be back the same day, but before she could, her stomach rumbled in the loudest manner possible, and her cheeks blazed red from the involuntary sound. "Have you had any dinner?"

"No, let's go grab a bite before you pass out." He was stifling his laughter, but the carefree grin on his face made her annoyed features soften. She grabbed the beautiful comb and quickly ran towards the mirror on her door, carefully brushing the soft curls on the right side of her head back before pushing the comb forward to secure it in place. When she turned to Shisui, his expression froze, eyes fixated on her in an almost mesmerized manner, and when she waved a hand back on forth near his face, he finally snapped out of his trance. "Okonomiyaki?"

**...**

It was dark when they finally reached the small shop he'd gone on and on about the whole way to the part of Konoha famous for its nightlife. It wasn't a place she ever frequented, but she had heard much about it from the boy accompanying her and his late cousin, and she'd long associated it with three main factors: great food, bars, and shinobi. "You've never been here before have you?"

She felt pretty embarrassed and left out, but she shook her head in affirmation. She'd always felt uncomfortable straying anywhere far from the market and the Hokage tower, which had made her miss out on the rest of the village she lived in, and part of her felt like a hermit for having allowed herself to live that way. Now that she was a shinobi though, she mentally promised herself to get out more and learn about the village she'd called home her whole life.

"It gets pretty rowdy, but it's a pretty cool place. Most shinobi like to come here after successful missions to celebrate." Just as he said that, a clearly inebriated man tumbled out of a small bar to the left of them, his loud wails and exaggerated features a clear indication he had nothing to celebrate. "Some like to come forget their failures too."

They walked in and under the red banners covering the front of the small shop, and she could smell the delicious scent of cabbage and pork, her mouth practically salivating as she placed her order. So far, she was enjoying the night life of the newly discovered (at least to her) part of town, and while she knew she should've been getting her supplies for tomorrow ready, she placated her conscience by reminding herself she was only getting dinner.

The sight of her plate being placed before her brought her out of her thoughts, and as soon as Shisui's own plate was set down as well, she happily muttered a quick 'thank you for the food' before digging into the savory pancake. "Mhm, this is soooooo goooooooood!"

Shisui let out a melodic laugh, and she found herself smiling brightly at him, content with his presence and the food they we're currently eating. She hadn't felt that content in quite a while, and for a second, she was able to forget all of her worries, finishing up her meal before Shisui was even halfway done with his. "Would you like some more?"

"Oh no, I'm stuffed!" It was true, she practically felt like she might have overeaten, but the dish was too good to leave any leftovers behind. She contently sipped at her melon soda as Shisui finished his own meal, and after thanking the cook, they stepped back out into the still lively street. Just as she'd been about to thank Shisui for treating her to dinner, a sneery voice managed to catch her attention.

Kasumi had never been the type to listen in on other people's conversations, but when she heard Kakashi's name being uttered from within a group of four shinobi dressed in customary green flak jackets, she couldn't help but instantly freeze. "…yeah man, _friend killer Kakashi _got assigned."

Her feet moved before her brain could even react, and she could faintly hear Shisui calling out her name, but his voice was drowned out by the pounding of her heated blood in her ears. The four men, who all looked no older than sixteen, were sitting down on the outside patio of a medium sized bar, and when she reached them, they looked at her with almost identical mocking looks on their faces. "What did you say about Kakashi?"

"The _friend killer_?" She recognized his voice as the first one she'd heard. The _boy_, because that's what he was, had white shoulder length hair with a slight hint of blue to it and dark green eyes. His features were twisted into a mocking grin that only served to anger her further, and when he turned to his friends and made another remark about Kakashi, she felt her bones buzz _painfully _under her skin. "Getting under your skin, huh little freak?"

One glance down at her arms let her see that something was definitely moving under her skin, but it was completely different from the way her bones normally did. Before she could react though, Shisui pulled her back and when she looked back up, the only thing she could see from behind him was the horrified expression on the white-haired boys face. "Apologize. _NOW._"

"Mizuki, hurry up! It's _that_ Uchiha kid!" The aforementioned boy instantly began stuttering, tripping over his words, until the phrase he was looking for finally managed to make its way out of his mouth.

"I'm sorry!" When Shisui finally relented, he quickly turned, meeting her emerald eyes with his red ones, which instantly bled back to their usual charcoal tone. He gingerly interlaced his fingers with hers, pulling her back out to the street and on their way to her home.

"What was that, back there?" She could feel the shame of her actions instantly spreading through her chest, but it was quickly replaced by the anger she'd felt when she'd heard what the other boy had said, and she met the gaze of the boy walking beside her with a serious expression.

"He called Kakashi a _friend killer_. That's not true, I couldn't just—"

"Not that, your arms." She could see the concern set deep in his obsidian eyes, but she didn't know how to respond. She herself wasn't entirely sure what that had been, all she knew was that it had _hurt_, and even though the pain had subsided, she could still feel the ache its presence left behind.

"I'm not sure." It wasn't a lie, but Shisui seemed to have a bit of doubt as he looked her over before turning his gaze back to the road ahead of them. They'd made it out of the lively area and were now in the middle of the empty market, the quiet sounds of the rambunctious place they'd just left was now nothing but a faraway buzz. Shisui kept quiet, and part of her worried that he was upset at her for confronting the older boys without a second thought to it, but the soft squeeze of his fingers around hers alleviated the worry in her mind. "I'm sorry for what I did back there."

"Don't be." His remark took her by surprise, and he shot her a small smile that made her instantly avert her eyes to her feet, only to try and hide the rosy hue she knew was dusting her cheeks. "I think it was quite valiant of you to defend Kakashi's honor like that."

"I think… I think that's what a friend should do. I'd like to be a good friend." It was true, Kakashi was the first friend she'd ever made, and he was genuinely an important part of her life. He was always there for her, and always knew what to say, even his silence was comforting. Shisui nodded his head, as if letting her words sink in, and the relieved look on his face confused her for a second until she remembered the last conversation she'd had with Obito about Kakashi.

'_Shisui is the one who noticed, it annoys him.'_

He had been telling the truth, she could see it now. While Shisui had done a good job of letting his feelings simmer inside him, something had undoubtedly changed, that much she'd been able to make out from the time she'd visited him at the Uchiha compound the day she'd woken from her two week unconscious stint at the hospital. It was almost as if he'd let the fear of losing her pave a way for his affection towards her to slip out of the safe he had it in, and as she glanced down at their interlocked fingers, she instantly noted that she enjoyed it.

"I know I'm not supposed to ask you about your mission tomorrow, so I won't. But can you promise me something?" She'd been so deep in her own thoughts that she hadn't even noticed they'd already made it back to her home, and as they stood beneath the balcony above her room, she noticed all the lights were off except for the one she'd left on in her room. Jiraiya wasn't home. She nodded her head. "Promise you'll come back."

"I promise." Shisui nodded his head, and when their eyes met once more, the soft touch of his skin on hers as he cupped her cheek surprised her. His hand was warm, something she'd already gotten used to and even enjoyed, and when she realized how close his face had gotten to hers, she felt as her eyes flutter shut involuntarily.

His lips were soft, softer than she would've ever guessed, and she could feel herself getting lightheaded at the overload of what was happening, but just as quickly as it had happened, it ended. She stood there for half a second before finally opening her eyes and was met by Shisui's bright smile. For once, Kasumi wasn't sure what to say, and when he flicked a finger against her forehead, her train of thought instantly paused. "See you when you get back, _ghost girl._"

He was gone before she could even mutter a quick reply, leaving her in a stupefied state, standing underneath her balcony with her fingers lightly trailing her lips. Shisui Uchiha had kissed her, and she could already feel how exhausted she'd be tomorrow morning when she met her team for her first mission. There was no way she was getting any sleep after that.

**...**

Kasumi was surprisingly not as tired as she thought she'd be after her eventful night. She'd woken up in time to shower and half braid her hair away from her face, securing it behind her head with the comb Shisui had gifted her. She'd even had time to prepare a quick breakfast, which consisted of a cup of miso soup and a small piece of salted salmon. By the time she'd reached the gates, she'd found she'd made it at the exact time as Might Guy, and after exchanging pleasantries, they headed out while the two ANBU operatives informed them of exactly how far Kakashi currently was, and how they'd made sure they'd waited just the right amount of time before deciding it was fine to begin tailing him.

"Have you heard what they're calling him?" The question had caught her off guard, mostly from how serious Guy had come off as he'd asked it, and her mind instantly went back to the altercation from the night before.

"Yeah." There wasn't much she wanted to say. The situation had made her extremely upset, and finding out that it hadn't been a one-time occurrence made her blood boil. Why would they call him that when they hadn't been there to see what she'd seen? Kakashi hadn't killed Rin, and the thought of that even being a rumor made her remember the way Danzo had said it so matter-of-factly.

Another question that plagued her mind was the one she should've thought when she'd first heard the nickname: did he know what he was being called? Her heart dropped at the thought of him having to hear people referring to him as _friend killer_, and her teeth caught the inside of her cheek, biting hard until she could taste blood. She needed to get back on track, letting her feelings get in the way of her first mission wouldn't be a good idea, but even as the pain of the open wound in her mouth stung, she could still feel the dread of Kakashi being hurt blurring the edges.

After what seemed like about eight hours of nonstop traveling, they heard the faint sounds of a skirmish right in the direction of where Kakashi was, and although they'd kept a good distance, it would take them little time to reach it. She could see the concern on Guy's face, and she could feel the way her heart thudded as the sound of Kakashi's Chidori infiltrate the air around her. The sound of it made every hair on her body stand on its ends, an instant reminder of the night Rin died, but she called upon every ounce of her own self-control to shove the memory to the back of her head.

Just as they got close enough to view what was going on, the sound of a thousand birds went quiet, and she could see the distressed look on Kakashi's face as he awkwardly managed to land on his feet, a large group of masked assailants charging at him at a high speed. Something was wrong with Kakashi, and she ran as fast as her legs could take her, quickly shielding his body with her own and bracing for impact.

Guy reached her before the masked men could, sending the strongest kick she'd ever witnessed towards the men rushing to her. "Severe Leaf Hurricane!"

The backlash of the force behind the kick was strong, and she had to focus her chakra to her feet to avoid being blown away like it's intended targets. They instantly dispersed, leaving behind small clouds of smoke, and the thought of Kakashi almost being taken out by a group of shadow clones made her want to chew him out, but Guy spoke before she could manage to even begin forming a sentence.

"This isn't like you! Why are you spaced out?" His tone was rough, but she could sense the concern behind it. Kakashi muttered a shaky apology, and she instantly noticed the beads of sweat rolling down his face and the way he seemed to be struggling to breathe. He was suffering a panic attack. "Kakashi?"

Kasumi caught him before he hit the floor, the sound of Guy still talking instantly becoming background noise to the beating of her own heart. She could feel the stinging in her eyes threatening to flood her vision with tears, but she quickly blinked it away, focusing on soothing the boy in her grasp. "You're okay Kakashi, I'm here. You're going to be okay."

She felt as he relaxed in her arms before losing consciousness, and she forced herself to keep her features as neutral as possible, but witnessing Kakashi fall apart like that _broke _her. When Guy went to take him out of her arms to carry him back home, her grip on him tightened out of instinct, but she forced herself to relax, finally allowing the older boy to take the silver haired boy from her. "I didn't think it would be this bad."

She shrugged her shoulders, the painful knot in her throat daring her to speak, and when Guy called out her name in a questioning manner, she finally relented. "I should have known."

It was true, she'd sensed it the last time they'd spoke, when he denied anything being wrong with him, but she'd let the feeling crawl into the back of her mind. Even when she'd noticed she couldn't get a hold of him, she'd simply blamed it on the fact that he was probably back out on missions, and she cursed herself for not ambushing him in the middle of the night like she had often done before. "It's not your fault."

She was tired of that line, but she hid her irritation, instead, focusing her energy into pushing her pace and gaining some distance between her and Guy. He'd meant well by his comment, the last thing she needed was to leave a bad impression by taking out her frustrations on him. "You two are pretty alike now that I think of it."

Even with the added weight of Kakashi on his back, he'd managed to catch up to her undetected, and she had to admit, she was impressed. She didn't have time to linger on that though, because as soon as she processed the comment he'd made, she was instantly distracted. He thought she was like Kakashi? "How so?"

Kasumi hadn't planned on making conversation on the way back to Konoha, she'd been too worried about Kakashi to even think of it, but the comparison had intrigued her for a reason she couldn't explain. Had she adopted his mannerisms from the couple of years they'd been friends? Or was it something simpler, like the fact that they both donned unusual shades of hair? "Something is broken inside the two of you."

"You don't even know me." She hadn't meant to snap at him, but he'd assumed far beyond what he should've been comfortable doing, and she was right. He _didn't _know her. They'd just barely met, and the current mission was the longest they'd been in contact, so how had he felt it right to make such an assumption? She wanted to lash out at him some more, but another feeling simmered deep in her chest, one she'd been too embarrassed to acknowledge. Guy was right, and more than that, he'd been able to see through her.

"I don't… but it's something that's easy to see. I can see the same look he carries in your eyes." She could feel that ever present knot in her throat practically taunting her, waiting to expose her vulnerability to the world, but she cleared it out of her throat as if it was nothing more than an itch. The sight of the village gates ahead comforted her, and she chose to let the conversation with Guy come to an end. "Let's get Kakashi checked into the hospital. After that we can go home. It's too late to report to Lord Yondaime, we can meet at the Hokage's tower tomorrow morning for that."

Kasumi nodded her head, grateful for the fact he'd changed the subject, and even more for the fact she'd be able to have some time to calm down before meeting Lord Yondaime for the mission report. Guy had managed to ruffle her feathers, and although she knew he hadn't meant for his comment to upset her, it still had. When they finally made it past the gates and to the hospital, she let out a sigh of relief the moment she was left alone with the unconscious boy.

As she sat beside him, she let her mind wander back to the helpless way he'd looked as he stood frozen to the ground. The way his chest rose and fell rapidly, the way his face paled instantly. She'd been in his shoes, knew the feeling of drowning with no water to actually drown in, and to know that he'd experienced the same thing pained her. After masking her emotions for the sake of appearances, she finally allowed herself to fall apart at the seams, taking hold of Kakashi's hand as she broke down. "I should've done better. I'm _so sorry_."

**...**

"Kasumi, stay behind please." Just her luck. Guy stepped out of the Yondaime's office, sparing her a look that let her know he had no clue why that had just occurred, and she believed him, he didn't seem like a narc. The door clicked close, and she let her gaze wonder back to the blonde sitting before her, his own gaze set deep with a serious expression behind it. "The Chūnin Exams are coming up. You've been recommended to participate."

"I don't have a team." It was true. And not only that, but was she'd just barely been granted the genin title.

"Team Orochimaru is a member short. You'd be paired up with Anko Mitarashi and Noburo Asato." _Orochimaru_. She was willing to bet he'd made sure there would be a person of his squad missing, and the thought of him eliminating his own student by cruel means didn't seem too far-fetched of an assumption to make. She said nothing of the sort though, and carefully made sure to keep her face as unreadable as possible to avoid raising questions. "I know you've never worked with them before, but I assigned you on that mission with Guy to see how well you'd be able to adapt to working in a team. You did good."

"Jiraiya?"

"I agree, kid." Kasumi was slightly surprised to see him come in from the window behind Minato's desk, something she really should've seen coming. They'd obviously had planned to make her sign up for the Chūnin Exams since before she'd become a genin, and a small part of her felt a bit blindsided. "If you're up for it, we'll have a whole month to prepare you for it. There's still a few things I'd like to teach you."

"Okay, I'll do it." Blindsided or not, the chance to be taught by Jiraiya for a month was something she couldn't pass up in her road to becoming strong enough to do what Rin had asked of her, and although it was Orochimaru's team she'd be joining, it was only temporary, and the chances of running into him were low. He hadn't sought her out since Jiraiya's return.

"Alright. Lessons start tomorrow kid."

**...**

**The lessons are something I'm actually gonna go over, since it's gonna be different from the basic training I skipped over for the genin exam. Kasumi get's her own summon next chapter, and she may or may not find out if she has a nature release… not sure yet. Shisui and Kasumi crossed a line in their relationship, something that I'm keeping innocent until a time skip (which we're getting close to, I just need to find the perfect spot). What do you think Kasumi's summon will be? What about her nature release, will she have more than one? What do you think was going on with her arms when she confronted Mizuki? By the way, Mizuki, is **_**that **_**Mizuki, the one that ends up becoming a teacher at the academy. I made him older in this story than he would've been in the actual plot, but not by much. Hope you guys like this chapter!**


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